Jan Steen (1626-1679): Wedding Feast
Oil on panel, 43 x 60 cm
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

The depiction of all kinds of feast is a favourite subject. The bride at the table is sat there looking sad, as her husband is engaged in conversation with a rather drunk person. In the middle of the scene some pub goers are dancing rather inelegantly. Such scenes have a double meaning: the purchasers of such a painting belong to the nouveau riche, who are in principle supposed to disapprove of such scenes, but still enjoy looking at such scenes in the privacy of their own home.