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« Happy New Year! | Main | Romare Bearden: a Master of Narrative Structure »
Friday
Dec212012

The Feast of Saint Nicholas

DateFriday, December 21, 2012 at 12:26PM

Jan Steen, The Feast of St. Nicholas - 1665-68 - Oil on canvas, 82 x 71 cm - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (click photo for larger image)Jan Steen (1626-1679) was one of the great Baroque era Dutch painters--who contributed enormously to genre painting and the development of interiors, as a subject matter.

“Steen painted at least six pictures of the Feast of St Nicholas, the festival traditionally dedicated to Dutch children. On the eve of 5 December, St Nicholas comes to the Netherlands from Spain to leave appropriate gifts in the shoes of children. The good ones receive cakes, sweets, and toys; the naughty ones get canes and coals. The finest version of this theme is in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.”

READ MORE about this fascinating work and enjoy learning about Steen and his other marvelous artistic productions.

What About Art? wishes you a very Merry Christmas--and a Happy New Year! We’re going to take off a few days to enjoy our own Christmas with our family and friends--but we’ll see you soon!

AuthorJill | CommentPost a Comment | Reference1 Reference |

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  • Response
    Response: Hoodia Gordonii Reviews
    at Hoodia Gordonii Reviews on January 6, 2015
    What About Art? - Blog - The Feast of Saint Nicholas

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