STEEN, Jan
(b. 1626, Leiden, d. 1679, Leiden)

Arrival of a Visitor

c. 1668
Oil on oak panel, 62 x 46 cm
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

In this scene of sensual character the visitor pays for the admission in the door, and the lady expects him stretching in an armchair.

The voluptuous lady leaning back with one elbow resting on a cushion, wineglass in hand, expects payment from her visitor: the young man at the door is giving money to the old woman leaning on her stick. There is a discreetly curtained bed in the corner of the room and on the wall a picture in which one figure is seen driving a second from an open doorway. The details have been carefully observed and the whole scene depicted with irony. The picture is a splendid example of Steen's later period.