The Life of Man
The curtain is lifted to give us a clear view of an inn, where young and old are enjoying eating, drinking, playing and flirting. But for Jan Steen, it was not just about cheerful conviviality. His message is concealed in a small detail by the window. Up in the dark attic, a boy is blowing bubbles next to a skull. Although life is wonderful, eventually it will burst like a bubble.
Creator
- Jan Steen
Type of item
- painting
Date
- 1665 - 1665
- 1665/1665
- 1665/1665
Medium
- canvas
- Canvas
Providing institution
Aggregator
Rights statement for the media in this item (unless otherwise specified)
- http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
Identifier
- 170
- resource_document_mauritshuis_170
Format
- 81.6 cm
- 68.5 cm
Providing country
- Netherlands
Collection name
First time published on Europeana
- 2017-08-02T11:48:20.560Z
Last time updated from providing institution
- 2023-02-28T08:45:41.077Z