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Home Collection Artworks The Feast of Saint Nicholas

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The Feast of Saint Nicholas

The Feast of Saint Nicholas

Jan Havicksz. Steen (in circa 1670)

Artwork Discover ALMA Ask anything Photo & Video
Key
Jug
Dish
Dish
Skimmer
Butcher knife
Painting
Coin
Rummer
Fishing bucket
Shoe
Kolf stick
Dripping pan
Wall tile
Brazier
Coin
Foot stove
Slipper
Chair
Table
Oriental carpet
Handbag frame
Armchair

Ask anything

  • Gisela Radicke asked

    What is on the table in front of the boy?

  • Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

    Hi Gisela, Thanks for your question. It is difficult to see exactly what is there, but I recognize a shoe with a rod in it, which would mean that Saint Nicholas did not give him any gifts but punishment instead. Maybe that's why he grabs his ear in pain.Then there are a ball, a bundle of sticks (fuses?), a little hook, a few mussel shells and a white roll which I cannot identify. These objects might be connected to the boy's misbehaviors for which he is punished. I hope this is helpful. Kind regards, Els

  • Antonia asked

    What is the object next to the brazier and the pink skirt?

  • Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

    Dear Antonia, this painting depicts a celebration of Saint Nicholas. In the Netherlands this feast is accompanied with presents and speciific candies (named 'pepernoten') and cookies (named 'speculaas' and 'taaitaai'). The cookies come in the shape of a doll, in various sizes. This seems to be a large 'taaitaai'-doll. I hope this is helpful. Kind regards, Els

  • 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 Painter: Jan Havicksz. Steen
Accession number 1826 (OK)
Credits From the estate of F.J.O. Boijmans, 1847
Department Old Masters
Acquisition date 1847
Creation date in circa 1670
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)
Langdurig bruikleen Steen, Calvijn, Weenix en Cuyp (2019)
Thuis bij Jan Steen – 400 jaar leven in de brouwerij (2026)
De kunst van het opvoeden (2013)
Research Show research Alma
Material
Object
Geographical origin Northern Netherlands > The Netherlands > Western Europe > Europe

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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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