rass and iron, and the
place is in complete disorder with eggshells and kitchen utensils
scattered about on the floor, yet the aspect of the scene is curiously
removed from vulgarity. Both beauty and character have been ideals of
the artist. He has not only grasped the loveliness of external things
but he has delved rather deeply into the individualities of these
roistering Hollanders. You do not feel as you do with Jordaens that
excess of flesh and the joys of the palate are all the world holds for
the revelers. The world holds, for one thing, appreciation of rich
accessories. The columned bedstead, the handsome rugs, the carved
furniture, the glint of gold in the ornate picture frame, especially the
sheen of the silk skirts, the soft thick velvet and fur of the sacques
and bodices, these, while they are not uncommon in the Dutch interiors
of the period combine to produce an impression of esthetic well-being
that tempers the unctuous physical satisfactions of a merry-making
class. With Jordaens it is the satyr in man that sets the standard of
enjoyment, except in his religious pictures which often are filled with
genuine and noble emotion, and in which he rises superior to Steen where
the latter works in the same kind. Nothing could be more commonplace or
characterless in color and form than Steen's rendering of the dinner at
Emmaus. Occasionally, however, he is equally without inspiration in his
lustiest subjects. In the "_Froehliche Heimkehr_" at Amsterdam, a merry
enough scene of people returning from a boatride in high spirits, there
is neither charm of color (save in the yellow jacket of a girl who leans
over the side of the boat) nor subtlety of characterization.

Fully to appreciate Steen, we should know his pictures in the Louvre and
at Amsterdam. They cover a wide range and comprise a considerable number
of masterpieces. The life he depicts in them is not of a very high
order, but he has seen the possibilities for pictorial representation in
his surroundings as almost no other painter of his time. His people are
alive and their living is active and fervent. What they do they do with
zest. There is energy in the painter's line and vitality in his color.
Nothing is dull or tame in his family drama. All has a touch of moving
beauty. In the "_Schlechte Gesellschaft_" of the Louvre or the more
vulgar "_Nach dem Gelage_" of the Rijks Museum--least rewarding of
pictures for the moralist--how rich in beauties of color