Jan Steen
(c.1626 - 1679)
 

Jan Havickszoon Steen was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour.

 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Steen

Rhetoricians at a Window
1658-1665
oil on canvas
80 x 58,6 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art
https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/102300

 

These mirthful men are members of a chamber of rhetoric, a type of dramatic and literary society popular throughout the Dutch Republic. These groups performed plays, tableau vivants, and poetry readings. At left, the group’s orator reads a paper titled Lof Liet (Song of Praise), while the poet who composed the verse looks on over his shoulder. Opposite, a critic listens pensively while a jester provokes laughter from onlookers. Many artists were members of such societies. While it is not known if Steen himself belonged, he frequently embraced elements of stage performance, theatricality, and poetry in his art.