Public domain
The Merry Family
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The entire family is in high spirits, creating a ruckus: father, mother, and grandmother sing loudly, the children join in, and they even puff on long pipes. The note on the mantelpiece hints that there is a lesson to be learned from this painting: ‘As the old sing, so shall the young twitter.’ What is to become of the children if their parents set the wrong example?
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionCredit lineHet vrolijke huisgezin. 1668. Jan Havicksz. Steen. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
