Merry Threesome 1672

Jan Steen’s “Merry Threesome,” likely dating from the mid-17th century, is made from oil paint applied to canvas. Steen, a master of genre painting, used his skilled hand to depict the everyday life of the Dutch Golden Age, but looked beneath the surface. Oil paint can create highly illusionistic effects, and here, that’s used to bring out the textures of clothing, skin, and even the light reflecting off a glass of drink. But Steen doesn’t only paint what he sees; he paints what he knows. Consider the way the figures are arranged, with the old woman’s face lurking behind the young couple. There's a sense of calculation and commentary in the painter's ability to draw the viewer into a specific social milieu. And in making that world so vivid, Steen reminds us that even the most straightforward-seeming paintings have a strong element of the artist's own values, made visible through the craft of painting.