The Dancing Couple

By 1663 the Dutch Republic was rich, at peace for a stretch, and enjoying it, and Jan Steen painted exactly that kind of afternoon. This is a kermis, a village fair, with a couple turning in the middle of an outdoor tavern while a fiddler and a flute player keep time. But Steen rarely let a party be only a party. Along the edges he tucked in reminders that the good hour will not last: cut flowers already drooping, a broken eggshell on the ground, a small boy blowing soap bubbles that will pop in a second. He was 37 and near the top of his trade when he made it, known for scenes so lively and disorderly that the Dutch still call a chaotic household a Jan Steen home.