44. Going Dutch: Why It's Easy to Relate to a 17th Century Brewer-and-Artist
It's "a household by Jan Steen" in here! People have always been conflicted about their drinking habits; plus press release parodies and tarot for beer flights.
Complicated Feelings About One’s Own Drinking Habits, a Tale as Old as Time
In the fall of 2020, during one of the little blips where it seemed okay to go to a limited-capacity museum with a timed-entry ticket and a mask, I chanced upon The Met’s Dutch Golden Age exhibit. Of that period, 1588-1672, I knew Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals, sure. But, staring into his own glassy, merry eyes amidst a scene at once alarmingly chaotic and appealingly fun, I became acquainted with an artist named Jan Steen. Jan would stick with me; ever since, I feel a sort of kinship with him. He’s my little patron saint sort of artist buddy.
After researching Jan, his life, and his work, I pitched a story that grew from the way he interpreted feelings on morality vis-à-vis imbibing in his work to the way other artists during the Dutch Golden Age did to the way artists throughout history, in all different periods, did. The former was too small a story; the latter too big. Lots of research and interviews with exceedingly generous, patient academics drove the story to its final destination, one centering around William Hogarth’s Gin Lane and Beer Street and how the print duo captured one of the pivotal eras in drinking history, for Good Beer Hunting. I’m still devoted to Jan, though, and I realized: his story at least is not too small to talk a little bit about here.
Jan, you see, is more closely linked to beer than your average artist. His father, Havick Steen, was a grain merchant and brewer; the family brewery in the Netherlands city of Leiden was called the Red Halberd. For a few years, Havick rented a brewery in Delft for Jan to run, which was called The Snake (I hope I was a regular of The Snake in a past life). The art market was tough at the time, thanks to the First Anglo-Dutch War, but Jan didn’t find much more security in his brewing career, because that industry was also affected. Within a few years, The Snake was sadly no more. About 15 years later, Jan was considered a successful artist, but in terms of recognition and respect, not so much in the cash department (some things never do change, do they?). Widowed, in debt, and working top positions at the Leiden’s painters’ guild that didn’t help because they were unpaid—of course they were, they were in art—Jan started operating an inn called The Peace, which apparently, he would often disturb. This is where the artist developed a bit of a reputation for over-indulging now and again.
Financially speaking, Jan’s situation never really improved. He did remarry, and I feel I must share with you that his second wife, Maria Dircksdr van Egmond, had her own hustle, which was selling boiled sheep heads and feet. Get that money, Maria. It wasn’t quite enough of a boiled sheep head empire to get the family out of debt, though, and Jan died as many artists do: revered for his art and absolutely fucked in terms of anything you could actually survive on.
What piqued my interest reading into Jan Steen was his own feelings about his drinking and lifestyle, and how those feelings manifested in his art. The painting up top there is “Merry Company on a Terrace,” 1670, and it’s where I met Jan. He’s the one leaning back and laughing, all the way to the left, with a hat that looks like someone drunkenly made it out of a napkin and plopped it on his head. Idk, I just think he looks like a good old fashioned fun hang, you know?
Jan’s work took on a similar over-arching theme to that of William Hogarth’s; that is to say, a reflection of morality, but told through the lens of satire and not outright judgment. You can see a lot of what’s at work in Gin Lane and Beer Street in Jan’s body of work, which, lecturer in the history of art at the University of York Dr. Richard Johns explained for my Good Beer Hunting piece, is a little bit a statement on societal pains, sure, but also an aesthetically rich demonstration of art, a salacious and voyeuristic peek at lower classes or those we deem unsavory, and a satirical wink-wink at it all.
Jan, however, centers himself in his work more often, because as it turns out, he had mixed feelings about his own drinking. He was self-conscious about it. He grappled with societal judgments of the time as well as his own self-judgment, versus the fact that he had a good time making merry with friends and family. Jan was all too aware of his reputation by the time he was an innkeeper. He was known for keeping a household often raucous and in disarray; everyone was having too good a time to fuss with household chores too much. “A household by Jan Steen” is a Dutch saying meaning “disorder and domestic chaos,” as per The Met. Jan was ashamed of this, but also…no one was getting hurt, and life is hard, and what else is there to do to unwind in 17th century Holland? Jan engaged in a constant cycle of enthusiastically imbibing and then feeling shit about it. Who among us, you know?
This is what sucks me into Jan’s story; this is what sucks me into history. Because times change but…people sort of don’t? Since the dawn of humanity, nearly, there was art and there was alcohol, and ever since, folks have been documenting their complicated feelings about the latter via the former. We love alcohol, we worship alcohol, alcohol is the devil, alcohol makes us barf, alcohol connects us to God, alcohol brings us to hell, everybody calm tf down alcohol’s just a good time sometimes—it’s all there throughout the centuries. From Egyptian depictions of ceremonial drinking to Impressionist depictions of the post-absinthe blues.
Check out Jan’s “The Dissolute Household,” 1663-64.
“Steen often made himself the butt of his own jokes,” The Met says. Symbols of poverty and misfortune quite literally hang over this family’s heads, with Steen at center, but…it’s a good Saturday night? This feels like Jan saying to us, “Ugh, I know, right? I go too hard—I need to cut back! But you know how it is. Tomorrow I’ll start a break. Unless my friends come over. But then definitely the day after.”
Things have obviously changed a lot since 1664. We know lots more about the actual, very real dangers of regular over-indulging and there’s tons more focus on moderation now. But in the face of that awareness, still very present more puritanical groups condemning any imbibing, a pandemic, trying to find a little fun and joy in this shit world, taking a balanced approach to discovering a world of beer you’re passionate about, and so on and so forth forever, I just find myself relating to a brewer-innkeeper-artist from 17th century Holland more than one might expect.
Press Release Subject Lines That Might Show Up in Your Inbox at Any Moment
I appreciate well-targeted press releases from breweries, any beer and beverage alcohol-related brands and businesses, etc., but 95% of what lands in my inbox on a daily basis is…wild. It’d be funny if weeding them out didn’t represent unbillable time in my #freelancelife work day. Some time ago, when I was working on some humor writing, I started a draft of parody press release subject lines that honestly, seem like they’re barely parody at all sometimes. I did not do anything with these, but I kind of dig them? So, I’m sharing them here because I feel like plenty of you can relate.
Chipotle Offering Refried Bean Facials for National Burrito Beauty Day!
What All Women Have Been Waiting For: Spanx and NASA’s Anti-Gravity Bodysuit
Starbucks to Pay Legal Fees for Anyone Willing to Change Their Name to What’s Written on Their Cups
Budweiser, Folger’s, LaCroix Team Up So Finally You Don’t Have to Drink Separate Beverages All Day!
Please Please Attend This Ranch Doughnut Party So Our Boss Doesn’t Cry Again and Fire Us
Nutrition Expert Will Reveal New Facts on Dangers of Drinking at Wine Tasting This Thursday
R.E.I. Has Answered Your Cries for Plus-Size Outdoor Jackets! Introducing: Tents
OK Go Will Celebrate the Anniversary of Their Iconic Video by Getting Haircuts While Singing on Treadmills
Plumber’s Crack Isn’t Just for Men: Stop Clogs the Pretty Way with New Pink Plunger
The Frat-Meets-Fancy Pairing Dinner: Fireball Shots & Caviar Lobster Crepes (LYFT Code Provided for Safe Travels)
Pink Plungers Recalled & Replaced By Purple Plungers Because We Realized We Implied It’s Weird for Women to Be Plumbers
The Bandages Every A-List Star(’s Stunt Double) Won’t Stop Talking About
All 627 Images from the Fashion Show We Were Unable to Invite You To, Coverage Needed!
We Heard Your Cries! Pink Plungers Return Because We Didn’t Mean Pink Should Be Gender-Specific!
Calling All Millennial Baking Enthusiasts! Buy Any Food Anywhere, Make It Look Homemade with New Snapchat Filters!
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Beer Tarot!
This week, I pulled the Two of Swords.
Swords speaks to intellect and decisions, and the Two of Swords in particular deals with the more difficult of those decisions, and how you can feel stuck—a dilemma, an impasse, and so on.
Basically, you’re stuck making a choice, and not moving forward. Is this a huge, life-changing, future-shifting issue like a career or city to live in? Is this what to order for lunch? Idk, that’s between you, the tarot, and Seamless. But luckily, the message here is pretty simple. See, you’ve got to get moving forward here. Life is short, and so, too, is the patience of the people on the growing line behind you at Chipotle. Our blindfolded character here means you don’t have enough information about your options to confidently pick one, but that might be involuntary or voluntary. If you’re stressed about your decision because you really don’t see a clear winner, do more research. Talk to more people; truly find out as much as you possibly can about each option so you can make a really comprehensive pros and cons list. And if we’re talking voluntary, like you’re just avoiding or procrastinating here, honey, let’s go. Life is never going to get easier but you can at least make things easier on yourself. Do your research, give yourself a deadline, and make a move. If it makes you feel better, include in your research fall-back options and plans. Like, if you’re deciding whether to move to a new city, give yourself an exit strategy if you really hate that place after a year.
In general, the Two of Swords just screams, “beer flight!” to me. And I’m like, “shh, Two of Swords, I’m right here, you can use your indoor voice.” Some people sneer at beer flights, but whatever, I sneer at those people. Beer flights are your research. The next time you’re getting to know a new brewery—or maybe you can try this at a go-to brewery where you’ve never really gotten adventurous with your ordering—start with a flight. Work your way thoughtfully through each pour. Then choose a full-size pour with confidence.
This Week’s Boozy Media Rec
Y’all. I have a horrible confession to make. I didn’t read or listen to anything new in the boozy media world this week. It’s literally been years since this has happened (even when I’ve been on vacation, which is maybe its own problem!). In short, it’s been a week. However, the HBO Max show “Minx” is brilliant. It’s about media and they’re often drinking? The uphill battle of feminism! Jake Johnson! ‘70s fashion. Go watch it, and I’ll catch up on my real media recs, promise.
Ex-BEER-ience of the Week
This is a foeder-lagered doppelblock from Schilling. I got it from Beer Witch. It was fucking glorious.
Until next week, here’s Darby with a Finback brew at one of our locals, High Dive.
