Festive Scene
Jan Miense Molenaer, Dutch
ca. 1650
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mabel Johnson Langhorne
Accession Number
1956.11.36
Tags
festivalDutchFigure groupviolindancing
About this artwork
Festive Scene conjures chimney smoke, bleating pipes, and boozy sweat. Revelers dance and drink in a dark tavern, where a spotted dog snoozes in spite of the racket. This is one of many humorous tavern interiors painted by the Dutch master Jan Miense Molenaer. (Westermann, âJan Miense Molenaer in the Comic Mode,â in Weller, Jan Miense Molenaer: Painter of the Dutch Golden Age, 2002). The work was part of the collection of Ralph Cross Johnson, a Harvard-educated lawyer who was described at th...