j JAN STEEN 41 1 1 !<:. The Ruined Family. An extremely fine work, in which one may see real life and how people fall from riches to beggary ; one of the very finest and ablest works ever known to lovers of art. Sale. Cornells van Dijck, The Hague, May 10, 1713, No. 38 (201 florins). i nd. A Dissolute Family. One of the artist's best works. 29^ inches by 42^ inches. Sale. R. Pickfatt, Rotterdam, April 12, 1736 (Hoet, i. 468), No. 43 (191 florins). i lie. The Ruined Family. An especially fine picture. Sale. Hendrik Bagh, Soeterwoude, August 24, 1761, No. I (197 florins). 112. The Dessert. Sm. 39 ; W. 291 and 471. In the middle of a room a woman is seated on a chair upholstered in red, at a table, upon which are a cloth and dishes of fruit. The woman wears a rose-coloured jacket trimmed with ermine ; she rests her foot on a book and holds a glass which a servant-girl is filling. She extends her other hand to a merry fellow who sits at the table and holds a pipe in his right hand. A boy amuses himself by tickling the nose of an old woman who has fallen asleep. Another boy draws a sword to frighten a beggar at the window. On the floor are a ham, which a cat is gnawing, a backgammon-board, a guitar, and other objects. From the ceiling hangs a basket with the cavalier's sword." Canvas, 42-^ inches by 36^ inches. Sales. J. Tak, Soeterwoude, September 5, 1781 (439 florins, Hoogeveen). Van Helsleuter (? Van Eyl Sluyter), Paris, January 25, 1802. Cardinal Fesch, Rome, March 17, 1845, No. 226 (8000 francs). 113. The Dissolute Family. W. 291. At a table covered with a cloth, upon which are various kinds of fruit, sits a girl holding a glass which a servant-maid fills with wine. The girl looks round with a smile. A man smoking a pipe sits near, laughing at her. At one side of the room a woman has fallen asleep in her chair ; a youth is tickling her nose. On the floor is a dish with a ham which a cat is gnawing. Near it are some broken bottles, books, and a gaming -board. The execution is very sketchy. The picture has been transferred from panel to canvas in France, as an inspection of it clearly proves. Canvas, 25 inches by 20 inches. Sale. J. Danser Nijman, Amsterdam, August 16, 1797, No. 238 (62 florins). 1130. Intemperance Portrait of Jan Steen and his family. Sale. C. Brind, London, 1849 C9 8 : l ^-> B - S - Smith )- l See IM -] 114. THE STARVED FAMILY. Sm. Suppl. 82; W. 398.- In a barn-like room with a fireplace at the back, the father and mother sit at their meagre repast in the middle distance to the right. The father offers a mussel to a hungry child standing on his right. To his left sits
