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After Jan Steen, 'An Itinerant Musician saluting Two Women in a Kitchen', probably about 1770

About the work

This grisaille work (painted in shades of black, white and grey) is a copy of a picture by Jan Steen known as ‘Old Wooer, Young Maid’. It’s a more appropriate title, emphasising that the man is probably making advances to the younger of the two women, who turns towards him.

The flute protruding from the man’s pocket suggests he is an itinerant musician, but it may also have phallic overtones. The discarded mussel shells on the floor may have been understood as suggestive of female sexuality. If not a brothel, the setting is certainly a tavern, and women drinking in such places would often have been involved in prostitution. But, as is typical in Steen’s pictures, there’s a high degree of amusement on the faces of those depicted.

The painting was probably made by (or for) Samuel de Wilde (1748–1832) in preparation for his print after Steen’s original.

Key facts

Full title
An Itinerant Musician saluting Two Women in a Kitchen
Artist
After Jan Steen
Artist dates
1626 - 1679
Date made
probably about 1770
Medium and support
oil on paper
Dimensions
46 × 36.8 cm
Acquisition credit
Bequeathed by Sir William H. Gregory, 1892
Inventory number
NG1378
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection
Previous owners

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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