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Analysis Of The Feast Of Saint Nicholas, By Jan Sten

Decent Essays

Jan Steen, born in Haarlem, travelled throughout the Netherlands and found many influences to further his artistry (Meagher, “Genre Painting in Northern Europe”). With his own renditions of portraits and still lifes during the Baroque era, Steen often captures comical moments that enliven many of his paintings. Instead of the underlying themes of folly or frailty of mankind, Steen’s piece, The Feast of Saint Nicholas, is far from one of his common chaotic high class works (Heppner 24). Moving away from the dramatic, action-packed, exaggerated moments of common Baroque art, Steen emphasizes on natural human emotion and simplicity. Ultimately, playing more on common Dutch Baroque subjects such as still lifes and paintings of common everyday life (Kleiner 301). Whilst keeping realistic and natural figures and theatricality from Baroque art, only on a less grandiose scale. …show more content…

With one of the younger girls in the foreground, holding a doll which could have possibly been a gift from Saint Nicholas and a bucket filled with other treats. A wonderful day for her may not be for the younger boy behind her; as it is not only happiness that Steen presents in his work, but also disappointment and sadness. Steen’s composition is filled with varying emotions from different individuals, all of which “express genuine, natural feelings” (Heppner 38). Although each person’s expression differs in a way that appears to split the piece into fragments, Steen captures all events in one moment. Turning this single moment into a story between each figure and bringing the viewer closer to piece, almost as if it was unfolding in front of them. Breaking away from the dynamism and grandiose of earlier Baroque art, and highlighting the small pleasures in life such as familial affection and

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