The Merry Family
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Jan Steen's 'The Merry Family' captures a chaotic, joyful Dutch household in full swing, with the father raising a glass while the mother holds a baby amidst the mayhem. Children play instruments, eat, and cause trouble, while a dog begs for scraps and a boy outside dangles a cat on a string. A paper on the wall even reads 'As the old sing, so the young pipe,' hinting that the kids are just mimicking their parents' wild behavior. This lively scene is the origin of the Dutch phrase 'a Jan Steen household,' which people still use today to describe a delightfully messy home.
Location: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
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