Pride & persecution: Jan Steen's Old Testament scenes

Abstract

Full of humanity and even humour, the Old Testament paintings by master visual storyteller Jan Steen are often treated like incidents in 17th-century Holland. This groundbreaking examination considers the influence of Jewish history and Dutch theatre on this element of his oeuvre. The Leiden-born artist Jan Steen (1626-1679) is widely admired as one of the most engaging and technically brilliant painters of the Dutch Golden Age. This volume accompanies an exhibition that will be the first in the UK devoted to Steen's Old Testament subjects. The focal point will be his magnificent Wrath of Ahasuerus (c.1668-69), one of the highlights of the Barber's collection, which will be joined by a select number of other paintings by Steen from private and public collections in Europe and the USA. Three essays will examine in detail the core themes of the show: the role of Jewish history in Steen's Old Testament scenes; the influence of Dutch theatre on his work; and the critical response to his Old Testament paintings from the seventeenth century to date. --- Exhibition: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham, UK (27.10.-28.01.2018) / Mauritshuis, The Hague, The Netherlands (Spring 2018).