The Feast of Saint Nicholas

Jan Havicksz. Steen (in circa 1670)

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Jane Choy asked

What is the round object that the little girl is holding?
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

Hi Jane, the girl is holding a kind of spiced biscuit: 'speculaas'. A treat that people in The Netherlands today still eat and receive as a gift during the feast of St. Nicolas. best, Sophie

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Specifications

Title	The Feast of Saint Nicholas
Material and technique	Oil on panel
Object type	Painting > Painting > Two-dimensional object > Art object

Dimensions	Width 49 cm Height 58.5 cm
Artists	Schilder: Jan Havicksz. Steen
Accession number	1826 (OK)
Credits	Uit de nalatenschap van / from the estate of: F.J.O. Boijmans 1847
Department	Old Masters
Acquisition date	1847
Age artist	Between 39 and 49 years old
Collector	Collector / F.J.O. Boijmans
External exhibitions	Sinterklaas, wie kent hem niet? (2009) Winter Tales. Depictions of Winter in European Art from Bruegel to Beuys (2011) De kunst van het opvoeden (2013) Langdurig bruikleen Steen, Calvijn, Weenix en Cuyp (2019)
Research	Alma
Material	Panel > Worked wood > Wood > Vegetable material > Organic material > Material > Material and technique Oil > Paint > Artist's material > Material > Material and technique
Object	Painting > Painting > Two-dimensional object > Art object
Geographical origin	Northern Netherlands > The Netherlands > Western Europe > Europe

All about the artist

Jan Havicksz. Steen

Leiden 1626 - Leiden 1679

Jan Steen is known for his humorous depictions of the everyday life of farmers and the middle-classes in 17th-century Holland. He worked in The Hague, Haarlem,...

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