Artwork
Love Sickness
Love Sickness is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Steen. It dates from 1660 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1660, this oil painting titled “Love Sickness” is attributed to Dutch artist Jan Steen.
Created in 1660, this oil painting titled “Love Sickness” is attributed to Dutch artist Jan Steen. The work portrays an intimate interior scene featuring a seated woman in a blue dress and white headscarf, a man leaning toward her, and a third figure in the background. A small dog rests near a basket, while a plain wall holds a fireplace, a statue and a mirror. The piece is part of the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
Subject & Meaning
The central figures are identified as Mary Magdalene and a physician, suggesting a narrative of spiritual or physical ailment. The woman’s downcast gaze and pale complexion convey vulnerability, while the man’s attentive posture implies care. The inclusion of a domestic dog and modest furnishings grounds the biblical subject in a familiar, everyday setting, inviting contemplation of the intersection between sacred themes and ordinary life.
Technique & Style
Steen employs a subdued palette dominated by blues, whites, and earth tones, creating a dimly lit atmosphere that emphasizes the figures’ expressions. The brushwork is smooth in the rendering of fabric and skin, contrasting with looser strokes in the background objects. Light falls softly on the woman's face and the physician’s hand, highlighting the intimate exchange while maintaining a calm, observational tone characteristic of Steen’s genre paintings.
History & Provenance
The painting was executed in the mid‑seventeenth century, a period when Steen was active in Haarlem. It entered the collection of the Alte Pinakothek, where it remains on display. Documentation of its early ownership is limited, but the work has been catalogued as part of the museum’s Dutch Golden Age holdings since the early twentieth century.
Context
Although Jan Steen is best known for lively depictions of Dutch domestic life, “Love Sickness” reflects his occasional engagement with religious subjects. By placing a biblical figure like Mary Magdalene in a modest interior, Steen aligns with contemporary trends that sought to make sacred stories relatable to a viewer’s everyday experience, blending moral instruction with genre realism.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Havickszoon Steen was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century.
Paintings of physicians by Jan Steen
The Dissolute Household
Merry Company on a Terrace
Esther, Ahasuerus, and Haman
Interior of an inn with an old man amusing himself with the landlady and two men playing backgammon, known as 'Two kinds of games'
The Drunken Couple
The Happy Family
Bathsheba after the Bath
