The King Drinks 1640

Curator: We are looking at Jacob Jordaens' "The King Drinks," an oil painting completed around 1640. Editor: What a scene! It feels like stumbling into a party where everyone's already three sheets to the wind. It's chaotic and joyful, but definitely tilting towards tipsy chaos. Curator: Exactly! This painting offers a window into 17th-century Flemish culture, portraying a boisterous Epiphany celebration, specifically the tradition of choosing a "king" for the day through a bean hidden in a cake. This selection ritual played with social hierarchies, temporarily upending norms and expectations. Editor: It definitely feels like everyone's letting loose. Look at the central figure—he's got that blissed-out, "I'm in charge for today!" grin. I can almost hear the raucous laughter and off-key singing. But there's also something strangely tender about the woman holding a baby right next to the king. Curator: Precisely! By depicting the very young and the old, or the dignified in strange proximity with the undignified, the work comments on the universal and temporary nature of these inversions, reminding viewers that identities are multifaceted, not fixed. We might even consider class performance through this piece. Editor: Hmm, yeah! I see your point! What about the dog and the cat, they almost feel out of place. Any symbolic value? Curator: Some art historians have connected this painting and similar works with a long history of paintings and festivals centered around temporary disruptions of hierarchy—carnivals, festivals of fools, etcetera—, arguing that these animals were signifiers of foolishness and vice in that tradition. Editor: Fascinating! It makes you wonder if these kinds of unruly traditions function almost like pressure valves in society, or as ways to examine those power structures that are normally pretty invisible. Now I'm curious to get invited. Curator: The way Jordaens captures this moment allows for an investigation into broader conversations on power and social structures. A piece for revelry and reflection all at once! Editor: A sentiment I think the King of the Bean would definitely agree with. Cheers to that.