About this artwork

After a wedding in seventeenth-century Holland, it was customary for the bridal party to make a procession to the groom’s house or to an inn. The groom welcomed the bride there, and then the marriage was celebrated with feasting, dancing and entertainment that would sometimes continue for several days. The couple wears festive garlands, with the groom’s positioned as a lewd allusion to the wedding night.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Jan Steen (1625/6 - 1679) Dutch
  • title:
    The Village Wedding
  • date created:
    About 1655 - 1660
  • materials:
    Oil on panel
  • measurements:
    52.90 x 47.90 cm; Framed: 74.00 x 68.30 x 9.00 cm / 9.00 kg
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to The National Galleries of Scotland 2005
  • accession number:
    NG 2801
  • gallery:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Jan Steen

Jan Steen