Attributed to Jan Steen, 'Boys at a river bank'

Attributed to Jan Steen (Leiden 1626 -1679)

In a forest landscape two boys are swimming in a creek, their clothes are lying on shore. Two other boys are getting undressed.

This painting is not signed, but can be subscribed to Jan Steen. This master, particularly known for his tavern scenes, painted this work around 1650. The year before he had married the daughter of landscape painter Jan van Goyen and Jan Steen was probably working in his studio as an assistant. He was living in The Hague, so possibly the The Hague forest is depicted in this painting.

In his early career Jan Steen was mainly experimenting and he painted a wide variety of themes. The figures in this painting are typical for this period in his career.