Wine is a Mocker - Misplaced Pages

Painting by the Dutch painter Jan Steen

Wine is a Mocker

Artist	Jan Steen
Year	1663–1664
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	87.3 cm × 104.8 cm (34.4 in × 41.3 in)
Location	Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena

Wine is a Mocker is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch artist Jan Steen, created in 1663–1664, now in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California. Its title is drawn from a biblical proverb.

The canvas depicts a scene outside an inn where a well-dressed drunken woman is about to be carried home in a wheelbarrow. The proverb, written above the door of the inn, reads: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise". The painting illustrates the point that no one, of whatever status, is immune from the unedifying effects of strong drink. Steen, who ran a tavern himself, would be well acquainted with such debauchery.

References

v t e Jan Steen
Paintings	A Mayor of Delft and his Daughter (1655) The Drunken Couple (c. 1655–1665) Interior with an Old Woman and a Young Boy (c. 1656–1660) The Oyster Eater (c. 1658–1660) The Lovesick Maiden (c. 1660) Tobias and Sarah in Prayer with the Angel Raphael and the Demon (c. 1660) The Physician's Visit (1660–1662) Skittle Players outside an Inn (c. 1660–1663) Children Teaching a Cat to Dance (c. 1660–1679) The Twelfth Night Feast (1662) Beware of Luxury (1663) The Dancing Couple (1663) Woman at her Toilet (1663) Wine is a Mocker (1663–64) The Effects of Intemperance (c. 1663–1665) The Feast of Saint Nicholas (c. 1665–1668) The Bean Feast (c. 1668) The Happy Family (1668) "As the Old Sing, So Pipe the Young" (1668–1670) Samson Mocked (c. 1670)
Namesakes	SS Jan Steen

Jan Steen

Paintings

A Mayor of Delft and his Daughter (1655)
The Drunken Couple (c. 1655–1665)
Interior with an Old Woman and a Young Boy (c. 1656–1660)
The Oyster Eater (c. 1658–1660)
The Lovesick Maiden (c. 1660)
Tobias and Sarah in Prayer with the Angel Raphael and the Demon (c. 1660)
The Physician's Visit (1660–1662)
Skittle Players outside an Inn (c. 1660–1663)
Children Teaching a Cat to Dance (c. 1660–1679)
The Twelfth Night Feast (1662)
Beware of Luxury (1663)
The Dancing Couple (1663)
Woman at her Toilet (1663)
Wine is a Mocker (1663–64)
The Effects of Intemperance (c. 1663–1665)
The Feast of Saint Nicholas (c. 1665–1668)
The Bean Feast (c. 1668)
The Happy Family (1668)
"As the Old Sing, So Pipe the Young" (1668–1670)
Samson Mocked (c. 1670)

Namesakes

SS Jan Steen

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