Artwork
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Steen. It dates from 1677 and is held in the collection of the Munich Central Collecting Point.
About this work
Overview
Jan Steen’s 1677 oil on canvas, titled The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, presents a bustling interior scene that illustrates the biblical narrative.
Jan Steen’s 1677 oil on canvas, titled The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, presents a bustling interior scene that illustrates the biblical narrative. The composition is populated by elegantly dressed figures engaged in drinking, eating, and lively conversation, while a central female figure kneels beside a prone man who appears incapacitated. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The painting interprets the New Testament parable by juxtaposing wealth and indulgence with suffering. A woman in a red dress attends to a man lying on the floor, suggesting compassion amid excess. The surrounding revelers, absorbed in their merriment, underscore the moral contrast between the affluent who ignore the needy and the humble who receive aid.
Technique & Style
Steen employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, allowing light to strike faces and garments, creating luminous highlights against deeper shadows. The bright yellow shirt and red hat of a laughing figure draw the eye, while the overall palette balances vivid colors with darker tones, enhancing the sense of movement and theatricality characteristic of Dutch genre painting.
History & Provenance
Executed in the late seventeenth century, the canvas entered the Rijksmuseum’s holdings, where it remains on display. Its attribution to Jan Steen aligns with his known production of moralizing genre scenes during the Dutch Golden Age, though specific acquisition details are not recorded in the available sources.
Context
Created during a period when Dutch artists frequently rendered biblical stories as everyday domestic tableaux, the work reflects contemporary concerns about morality, wealth, and social responsibility. Steen’s choice to embed the parable within a tavern‑like setting mirrors the era’s didactic use of familiar environments to convey religious lessons.
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