Artwork
A Clean Sweep
A Clean Sweep is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Miense Molenaer. It dates from 1635 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The iconography includes a playing card held by the man, a child observing the game, a pig near a broom, and a vlieger, all rendered in oil on panel.
The painting shows a domestic scene where a man and woman engage in a card game while a child watches and a pig sniffs near a broom, suggesting themes of leisure, chance, and moral warning. The presence of a playing card, broom, and pig functions as symbolic elements often associated with folly, household routine, and the transience of pleasure in 17th‑century Dutch genre painting. By capturing this everyday activity, Molenaer comments on the fleeting nature of prosperity and the hidden dangers of indulgence.
The iconography includes a playing card held by the man, a child observing the game, a pig near a broom, and a vlieger, all rendered in oil on panel. These details reinforce a moral narrative about the risks of gambling and the simplicity of domestic life, inviting viewers to consider the balance between enjoyment and excess.
Technique & Style
A Clean Sweep is executed in oil paint on panel, a support typical of small-scale Dutch genre scenes of the period. The composition measures 39.5 by 55.5 cm in a horizontal format suited to its anecdotal subject matter. Stylistically, the work belongs to the tradition of genre painting, depicting everyday figures including a man, woman, child, a pig, a broom, and players engaged with playing cards and a vlieger (a kite-like toy).
The handling reflects Molenaer's characteristic approach to lively, narrative-driven genre scenes, populated with multiple interacting figures and domestic props arranged across a shallow stage.
The painting is held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich, where its modest dimensions and panel support are consistent with works intended for private domestic settings rather than large public display.
History & Provenance
Jan Miense Molenaer created the oil-on-panel painting A Clean Sweep in 1635. The work measures 39.5 cm in height and 55.5 cm in width. It is currently held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich.
The painting depicts a genre scene featuring figures such as a man, a woman, and a child, alongside a pig and a broom, set within a card-playing context.
Jan Miense Molenaer's 1635 painting, A Clean Sweep, is held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich. The work, executed in oil on panel, measures 39.5 cm in height and 55.5 cm in width. While the artwork depicts a genre scene featuring figures engaged in card games alongside a pig and a broom, the provided sources do not list a specific inventory or accession number for the piece. Additionally, no exhibition history is recorded in the available documentation.
Context
The work presents a domestic scene with a child playing cards alongside adults, reflecting 17th-century Dutch genre painting's interest in social rituals and moral undertones. Molenaer's treatment emphasizes tactile details of household objects and gestures, situating the composition within the broader tradition of low-life genre scenes that explored leisure and domestic order. Its formal balance and narrative ambiguity influenced later genre painters, while its inclusion in the Kunsthaus Zürich collection since inception highlights its enduring significance in Swiss art historical discourse.
The painting's material execution on panel demonstrates careful layering of oil glazes to achieve depth in shadow and texture, particularly evident in the rendering of fabric and the pig's bristly hair. This technical approach aligns with Molenaer's documented practice of adapting genre motifs from Flemish and Dutch precedents while introducing subtle innovations in spatial depth and character interaction.
Scholarly interpretations often connect the work to broader themes of domestic virtue and the symbolic use of games in 17th-century visual culture, positioning it within Molenaer's active period in Haarlem before his move to Amsterdam circa 1639.
Legacy
A Clean Sweep has been recognized for its role in shaping early Dutch genre painting, particularly in the depiction of domestic scenes and moralizing subjects. The work's composition, featuring a child playing with a card and a broom, influenced later artists who explored themes of chance and virtue. Its presence in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich has contributed to the museum's reputation for holding significant examples of 17th-century Dutch art, reinforcing scholarly discussions on genre painting's development.
Overview
Jan Miense Molenaer, a Dutch painter active during the 1630s, produced the oil on canvas work A Clean Sweep in 1635. The composition captures a cramped interior populated by six figures engaged in ordinary activities, a typical subject for genre painters of the Dutch Golden Age.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Miense Molenaer (1610 – buried 19 September 1668) was a Dutch Golden Age genre painter whose style was a precursor to Jan Steen's work during Dutch Golden Age painting.
