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Art Analysis: A Family Gathering By Jan Steen

345 Words2 Pages

As we look at this home we see a family gathering and this is not a peaceful visit but rather boisterous and joyful. Because we see wine and music at this gathering we tell that the socioeconomic class of this family is middle-class and that this gathering is more in likely a celebration. In this painting, Jan Steen has portrayed a scene which started out as a family meal because in the background we see items such as a dirty skillet, a spoon, plate, containers, and eggshells. However, this family meal has changed into a joyful yet noisy celebration. There are many interactions in this painting that imply a celebration is occurring such as the father indulging in some intoxicating drink and it seems as if he is closing his eyes to sing, and most likely singing off key. Another instance of a celebration is the children are using some sort of musical instrument to make music and we see that the mother and grandmother have begin to sing as well.
Jan Steen depicted this family's celebration in such a subtle way because in this painting he warns viewer about what is depicted in this painting which is the consequences of a bad upbringing. In the Merry Family, we see that the artist has included a famous Dutch proverb which says,"So father, so son", in order to highlight the moral …show more content…

The Merry Family is one of Jan Steen's most famous painting.However, despite all the merry going on,this is much more than a cozy family evening but rather a chaotic family scene. This painting is chaotic because everybody in this family is having such a great time but nobody notices that the little boy that is following his father's example and drinking wine.With most of Jan Steen's painting, the scene was intended to instruct and amuse the viewer.After all, bad habits may well be amusing, but this painting acts as an example of how people should not

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