Where to See Prince`s day: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jan Steen executed this lively tavern celebration during the 1660s-1670s, showing a company celebrating the birthday of Prince William III of Orange-Nassau (November 14, 1650). A portrait of the prince hangs above a bedstead while a copper crown with orange branch decorates the table.

The scene captures Dutch patriotic festivity with people drinking, eating, and laughing. A bell hangs alongside the crown and orange symbols. Steen specialized in these chaotic genre scenes packed with figures and activity. The Rijksmuseum holds the world's largest Steen collection with 22 paintings. Now at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Prince's Day celebrated the birthday of Prince William III of Orange-Nassau, born November 14, 1650. The popular feast-day featured patriotic symbols including orange branches, crowns, and the prince's portrait.

Jan Steen (c.1626-1679) created this work in the 1660s-1670s. He specialized in chaotic tavern scenes and celebrations, earning the Dutch expression "a Jan Steen household" for disorderly homes.

The work hangs at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which owns the world's largest Steen collection with 22 paintings total. It also holds his famous Feast of St. Nicholas.

A portrait of Prince William III hangs on the wall, while a copper crown with orange branch sits on the table. Orange was the color of the House of Orange-Nassau.

Prince`s day

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More by Jan Steen

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A Village Wedding

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The Milkmaid

Woman Reading a Letter

Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede

The Jewish Bride

The Stone Bridge

View of Houses in Delft, Known as The Little Street

The Laughing Cavalier

Woman and Child in a Courtyard

About Prince`s day

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