Public domain
Family scene
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This colorful group is celebrating. In the background on the right, a gentleman and a lady sit stiffly, watching the revelers. Remarkably, an owl is perched above their heads. At the time, the owl was a symbol of stupidity, drunkenness, and hypocrisy. Jan Steen was likely mocking the so-called piety of his contemporaries.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionCredit lineFamily scene. 1660 - 1679. Jan Havicksz. Steen. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
