Artwork
The Village Wedding
The Village Wedding is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Steen. It dates from 1657 and is held in the collection of the National Galleries Scotland.
About this work
Overview
The Village Wedding is a genre painting executed in oil paint by Jan Steen in 1657. It is housed at the Scottish National Gallery.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a lively village wedding scene, with a bride in white and a groom in gray standing before a stone wall, surrounded by villagers engaged in various activities, conveying a sense of joy and celebration.
Technique & Style
The scene is rendered in warm, earthy tones, with a focus on the human figures and their interactions. The use of chiaroscuro, an artistic technique that employs strong contrasts between light and dark, adds depth to the composition.
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
