Jan Steen research project

Five paintings by Jan Steen from the British Royal Collection will be examined as part of the extensive research project on Jan Steen’s painting technique, initiated by the Mauritshuis. Director Emilie Gordenker said : ‘It is a wonderful opportunity for us to study these paintings in our conservation studio and conduct technical research on them’. The paintings A Twelfth Night Feast: ‘The King Drinks’, A Woman at her Toilet, Interior of a Tavern with Card Players and a Violin Player, Merrymaking in a Tavern with a Couple Dancing and A Village Revel will be on view in the exhibition At Home in Holland. Vermeer and his Contemporaries from the Royal Collection, which opens to the public on 29 September.

Research Project on Jan Steen’s Painting Technique

Jan Steen (1626-1679) is one of the most popular painters of the Dutch Golden Age. His oeuvre includes some 400 paintings, of which only 10 % have been dated. This makes it a challenge to establish a chronology for his works and to trace his development as a painter. The Mauritshuis, which has one of the most important collections of Jan Steen's work (15 paintings), hopes to gain a better understanding of his technical and artistic development through this research. A presentation about the project will be on view in the museum’s permanent collection in late September. The Mauritshuis is conducting technical research into Steen’s painting technique in association with Shell, its Partner in Science.

At Home in Holland: Vermeer and his Contemporaries from the British Royal Collection

The exhibition contains works by masters such as Gerard ter Borch, Gerrit Dou, Pieter de Hooch, Gabriël Metsu and Jan Steen, which are regarded as some of the most important Dutch genre paintings in the British Royal Collection. The highlight of the exhibition is ‘The Music Lesson’ by Johannes Vermeer.