In the seventeenth century, the Netherlands expanded its trade, thus increasing its economy and culture. The artists began to paint the daily life of the Dutch, giving way to what we now know as the Dutch Golden Age.[1] The Dutch painting were characterized not only by the realism of its scenes, but also reflected themes such as love and drama.[2] The artists of the time began to focus their paintings on a specific themes to show their skills and at the same time to get greater acceptance of their paintings in order to sell them. A well-known painter of the time was Jan Steen. The prominent artist is noted for his moralizing paintings of everyday life, but especially for his humor. In The Dissolute Household, Steen depicts a chaotic scene of a dysfunctional home – food and drink, the lady sleeping at the table and her portrait in the center of the painting – as signs of chaos and unfolding of the Seven Deadly Sins.

In Figure 1, Steen plays with the behavior of each of the characters to accentuate the dysfunctional nature within the scene. The author’s image in the center of the painting makes it the focal point. The double standard laughter illustrated in his portrait shows his second intention towards servitude or it could be his humor when painting the artwork. “Playful young children contribute to the general impression that a family is going crazy” [3] as their mother gets drunk and the older lady (grandmother) sleeps. Furthermore, “Symbols of discord and disaster are the broken lute strings and the hanging basket filled with items associated with poverty, misfortune, and disease.” [4] The cat eating the first thing he finds and a homeless man at the window seeing that he has nothing while the people he is looking at waste their money. This dysfunction in The Dissolute Household scene exposes the vivid image of a family who, with their wrong actions, turns their home into chaos.

In figure 1, food and drink are the most frequently repeated elements. Too much food and wasted drinks stir chaos.[5] The broken bottle on the floor with an excess of alcohol, the excess of fruits in the middle of the table (although it is evident that they have just eaten) and the meat on the floor are a representation of the capital sin of gluttony. “Catalog of favorite failures of Holland”. [6] Steen’s humor in the painting is evident. Each detail with a double meaning makes the viewer think about his own daily life. A simple family gathering where there is no control of consumption can end up turning into a mess. An action that without thinking leads to the act of committing the capital sin “Gluttony”.

In The Dissolute Household, Steen’s portrays himself as a character in the center of the painting flirting with the service woman while she is serving more wine to the lady of the house. The lady is so intoxicated that she does not realize her husband’s wishes towards the maid (sin of lust).[7] Another example of how the actions of the characters in the painting unleash the immorality that each one carries. When certain spectators observe the painting, they may associate their own devious behaviors with that of some characters in the painting.The proximity of the man in the painting with the servitude, leads us to interpret that something is broken in the relationship of the couple so that he comes to have inappropriate thoughts or actions.

In the left portion of The Dissolute Household, Steen exposes the image of an old woman sleeping after she finished her food, as a sign of Sloth.[8] Steen presents Sloth as the “responsible for the breakdown of society’s rules and standards as the Dutch ideologically constructed them in the idealized notion of the home.”[9] Laziness is a force that prevents you from doing what you must do. Mental laziness, carelessness and taking too long to do things are attitudes related to sloth. Sloth is one of the factors (sins) that can lead a household to disorderly conduct. The lack of encouragement and strength to guide the little ones makes them become citizens without training. Therefore, laziness as Steen shows is one of the most relevant sin that can lead to the destruction of a home.

In conclusion, Steen portrays a masterful representation of the biblical seven deadly sins applied to the society in which he lived. He uses seven characters to form the representation of the Dissolute Household. He takes central stage in the scene as to imply that he is not an innocent bystander by including a portrait of himself.  He uses his art to portray the dysfunctional society in which he lives and at the same time criticizes what he thinks are the elements that are contributing the most to the deterioration of society.

---

[1] Seiferle, Rebecca. 2018. Dutch Golden Age Painting. The Art Story, September 09. : https://www.theartstory.org/movement/dutch-golden-age/.

[2] Editorial Feature. n.d. Discover The Work of The Dutch Golden Age Painters. Google Arts & Culture. Accessed April 20, 2020. https://artsandculture.google.com/theme/discover-the-work-of-the-dutch-golden-age-painters/dgISuPe2Fz5CIw?hl=en.

[3] “Dissolute Household” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, j.e. The Met Museum. 2011. Accessed April 12, 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437747.

[4] Golahny, Amy. winter 2017. “Early Reception of Rembrandt’s Hundred Guilder Print: Jan Steen’s Emulation.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. Accessed April 13, 2010. doi:10.5092/jhna.2017.9.1.10.

[5] Meagher, Jennifer. 2009. “Food and Drink in European Painting, 1400–1800.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed April 15, 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/food/hd_food.htm.

[6]  Golahny, Amy. winter 2017. “Early Reception of Rembrandt’s Hundred Guilder Print: Jan Steen’s Emulation.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. Accessed April 13, 2010. doi:10.5092/jhna.2017.9.1.10.

[7] Meagher, Jennifer. 2008. “Genre Painting in Northern Europe.” n Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–). https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gnrn/hd_gnrn.htm.

[8] Golahny, Amy. winter 2017. “Early Reception of Rembrandt’s Hundred Guilder Print: Jan Steen’s Emulation.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. Accessed April 13, 2010. doi:10.5092/jhna.2017.9.1.10.

[9] Salomon, Nanette. 2004. Shifting Priorities: Gender and Genre in Seventeenth-century Dutch Painting. illustrated. Stanford University Press. Accessed april 15, 2020. https://books.google.com/books/about/Shifting_Priorities.html?id=t90DUibNUMoC.

Bibliography

“Dissolute Household” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, j.e. The Met Museum. 2011. Accessed April 12, 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437747.

Editorial Feature. n.d. Discover The Work of The Dutch Golden Age Painters. Google Arts & Culture. Accessed April 20, 2020. https://artsandculture.google.com/theme/discover-the-work-of-the-dutch-golden-age-painters/dgISuPe2Fz5CIw?hl=en.

Golahny, Amy. winter 2017. “Early Reception of Rembrandt’s Hundred Guilder Print: Jan Steen’s Emulation.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. Accessed April 13, 2010. doi:10.5092/jhna.2017.9.1.10.

Meagher, Jennifer. 2009. “Food and Drink in European Painting, 1400–1800.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed April 15, 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/food/hd_food.htm.

Meagher, Jennifer. 2008. “Genre Painting in Northern Europe.” n Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–). https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gnrn/hd_gnrn.htm.

Salomon, Nanette. 2004. Shifting Priorities: Gender and Genre in Seventeenth-century Dutch Painting. illustrated. Stanford University Press. Accessed april 15, 2020. https://books.google.com/books/about/Shifting_Priorities.html?id=t90DUibNUMoC.

Seiferle, Rebecca. 2018. Dutch Golden Age Painting. The Art Story, September 09. : https://www.theartstory.org/movement/dutch-golden-age/.