Artwork
The drawing lesson for a boy holding a hat
The drawing lesson for a boy holding a hat is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Steen. It dates from 1663 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
About this work
History & Provenance
Executed in oil paint, the work depicts a man, a boy, and the art of drawing, with a teacher figure also present.
Jan Steen created the painting titled The drawing lesson for a boy holding a hat in 1663. Executed in oil paint, the work depicts a man, a boy, and the art of drawing, with a teacher figure also present. The piece is currently held by the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
While the specific commission details and the full chain of ownership prior to its arrival in the Boston collection are not detailed in the available records, the work is firmly dated to 1663 and classified within the genre of religious art.
Context
Jan Steen's 1663 painting The drawing lesson for a boy holding a hat depicts a teacher guiding a young student in artistic practice. The work belongs to the religious art genre despite its secular subject, reflecting the thematic categories of Dutch Golden Age painting. It is housed in the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, forming part of a curated group of Steen's works emphasizing moral and educational narratives within domestic scenes.
Overview
Jan Steen’s oil painting, dated 1663, portrays a quiet interior scene in which an adult instructor and a young boy share a drawing lesson. The work is part of the collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and exemplifies the artist’s interest in everyday domestic moments.
Subject & Meaning
At the centre of the composition, a man in a fur‑trimmed hat leans over a wooden table where a boy, holding a hat in his lap, concentrates on his drawing. The arrangement suggests a pedagogical relationship, emphasizing the transmission of artistic skill across generations.
Technique & Style
Steen employs a subdued palette and soft chiaroscuro to render the dimly lit room, allowing the figures to emerge from the shadows. Fine brushwork captures the texture of the fur‑lined hat and the scattered drawing implements, while the modest lighting focuses attention on the act of creation.
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
