Right here on the Bierkade, Jan Steen once lived as a young apprentice under his master Jan van Goyen. The canal, the rooftops, the quiet hum of daily life along the water, all of it fed the imagination of a man who would become one of the most celebrated Dutch painters of the 17th century.
Steen had a gift for painting the messy, funny, deeply human side of life. His canvases burst with bickering households, tipsy tavern guests, gullible patients being fooled by quack doctors in ridiculous old-fashioned clothing, and mischievous children getting away with everything. The Dutch came to love his work so much that the phrase "a Jan Steen household" entered everyday language, meaning a home full of cheerful, wonderful chaos.
Women often took center stage in his paintings, portrayed with extraordinary attention to their faces, posture, and fine fabrics. He also loved painting proverbs, filling his work with puns and layered meanings that delighted his 17th-century audience.
Steen eventually married Van Goyen's daughter, Margriet, so his time on this very street gave him both his artistic foundation and his wife. Not a bad apprenticeship, all things considered.
Sources. Story: mauritshuis.nl Photos: Jan Steen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
