The bean festival
The Bean Festival by Jan Steen is a moral and genre image of the Golden Age from the 17th century in the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Wilhelmshöhe Palace in Kassel. The oil painting from 1668 is one of Jan Steen's main works.
Image description
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| The bean festival |
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| Jan Steen , around 1668 |
| Oil on canvas |
| Wilhelmshöhe Castle |
On Epiphany , January 6th, the Dutch family has a sumptuous meal, the climax of which is the coronation of the Bean King . A bean is hidden in a cake, whoever receives it when distributing the cake is the king of the festival. The young king has climbed onto a sideboard to empty the festive drink, to which his grandmother holds out her hand. Another boy behind him is ironically holding his coat like a train. The mother, who is no longer quite sober, sunk back casually in her chair, turns to the Bean King without letting the wine jug out of her hand. Funny lads perform a cat concert to celebrate the royal drink. The distinguished guests sit together on the right. The characters on the 0.80 m × 1.06 m oil painting on canvas are characterized with psychological sharpness and connected to a novelistically pointed, funny and moving scene. Jan Steen signed and dated the oil painting on the lower left.
Provenance
In 1736, Jan Steen's Bean Festival in Delft was auctioned from Jan von Loon's estate. The painting ended up in the art gallery of the notary Valerius Röver. Wilhelm VIII acquired the entire art gallery that also housed Jan Steen's Bean Festival.
Literary mention
The writer Christine Brückner , who lives in Kassel, wrote about the picture:
“The great picture of the Three Kings (The Bean Festival) by Jan Steen hangs in the state art collection of Wilhelmshöhe Palace. Heinrich Heine said: 'The earth is a single fair'. "
literature
- Old Masters Picture Gallery at Wilhelmshöhe Palace. Georg Westermann Publishing House. Braunschweig, 2nd edition 1982, ISSN: 0341-8634
- Christine Brückner: My black sofa. Ullstein Verlag, Berlin, 1986
Coordinates: 51 ° 18 ′ 54 " N , 9 ° 24 ′ 58" E