Artwork
Gamblers' Quarrel
Gamblers' Quarrel is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Steen. It dates from 1665 and is held in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work portrays a woman and a man locked in a heated quarrel over a gambling table, a typical genre scene that Jan Steen used to comment on everyday vice. By showing the tension and agitation of the players, the painting illustrates the folly and social discord that can arise from gambling, serving as a moralizing warning about the dangers of excess and the loss of decorum.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting on canvas executed in 1665, depicting a lively scene of a man and woman engaged in gambling. The brushwork and composition exemplify the genre scene style characteristic of Jan Steen's output, with careful handling of light and detail to convey narrative tension.
History & Provenance
Gamblers' Quarrel is an oil painting by Jan Steen dated to 1665. The work entered the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, where it is currently held. No further details about its commission, prior ownership, or chain of custody are documented in the available sources.
Overview
Jan Steen’s oil painting Gamblers’ Quarrel, executed in 1665, presents a bustling interior scene of a gambling dispute. The work is part of the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, where it remains on display as a vivid example of Dutch genre painting.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Havickszoon Steen was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century.
Paintings of physicians by Jan Steen
The Dissolute Household
Merry Company on a Terrace
Esther, Ahasuerus, and Haman
Interior of an inn with an old man amusing himself with the landlady and two men playing backgammon, known as 'Two kinds of games'
The Drunken Couple
The Happy Family
Bathsheba after the Bath
