Description
34. Jan Steen (Leyde 1626-1679)
Scène de taverne avec une bagarre entre joueurs de cartes
signed and dated 'J.** 1678' (lower right)
oil on panel
37,2 x 49.7cm (14 5/8 x 19 9/16in).
Provenance
The Collection of Schall-Riaucour, Dresden, Saxony
Sale, Bonhams, London, 16 December 1998, lot 66
In a letter dated 19 October 1998, Guido Jansen of the Rijksmuseum gave the painting his approval as a previously unrecorded work by Jan Steen. Among the characteristic features supporting the attribution, he highlighted the vivid characterization of the card players and noted the presence of numerous pentimenti, including alterations to the position of the feet of the seated figure on the left, the dog, and the man on the right who reaches for his knife.
Jansen further suggested that the date had been modified at some point by an individual who misread the original inscription and believed it should read 1671. From a stylistic perspective, the painting is closely related to a number of works executed around 1671, including Peasants Fighting in an Inn (whereabouts unknown; Hofstede de Groot nos. 770 and 779; Braun no. 344) and Cardplayers Fighting Outside an Inn (formerly on loan to the Arnhem Museum from the Instituut Collectie Nederland, previously the Rijksdienst Beeldende Kunst; Hofstede de Groot nos. 774 and 775; Braun no. 345).
The energetic depiction of a tavern brawl, combined with Steen's characteristic observation of human behaviour and expressive figure types, places the work within the artist's mature production of engaging genre scenes.
About the sale
From Antwerp to Bruges, the Collection of a Flemish Connoisseur
Auction location
Auction time
11/04/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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