i JAN STEEN I9 44. THE CHILD JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. Sm. ioi; W. 145. Numerous scribes are assembled in a great hall. The high priest is seated on a marble throne adorned with twisted pillars. Before it is a table with a handsome cloth ; on either side of it sit two Pharisees, and one at the end with his back to the spectator. Jesus stands in the midst, express- ing in His attitude the answer to His mother's question : " Sir, why hast thou thus dealt with us ? " The Virgin, dressed in a blue cloak, takes her Son by the arm. Joseph, wearing a hat, stands on the other side of her. A large censer is placed in the foreground, with a book of the Law to the left. " The painter evidently intended in this picture to imitate the richness of colour and effect of Rembrandt " (Sm.). Signed at the bottom to the left with the monogram ; canvas, 34 inches by 40^ inches. Sales. M. Stategaart, Alkmaar, July 27, 1802, No. I (160 florins, Gruyter). 1803 (4800 francs). Marquis Maridon (Marialva, according to Sm.), 1823 (bought by Sm. privately for ji2o). In the collection of J. Fisher (1833). Sale. H. Th. Hoch (A. Ruprecht's successor), Munich, September 19, 1892, No. 198. Now in a private collection at Basle. 45. THE MARRIAGE AT CANA. On the left is the full- length figure of Christ, surrounded by four persons. A servant standing in front of Him pours wine out of a jug. Three metal pans are placed near. To the left of a marble-topped table sits a young woman, drinking from a goblet. At the back of the table a carpet hangs on the wall ; before this are five persons. Two men on the right are conversing ; the younger of them holds a shallow cup. In the right background are two figures, and a boy playing a flute at the foot of a staircase, which leads to a gallery in the centre of the picture. A maid-servant with a plate of cakes comes down the stairs. There are in all twenty-five or thirty figures. It is an excellent work, beautiful as a composition, delicate and harmonious in colour, and well preserved ; it resembles in style the picture of a wedding in the Six collection (455). Oak panel, n inches by 14^ inches. Now in the collection of Rudolf Mosse, Berlin. 46. THE MARRIAGE AT CANA. Sm. 98 and Suppl. 51 ; W. 192. In a large hall, which has a green curtain hanging from the ceiling, numerous persons sit at a table which stands on a dai's. Among them is Christ, who gives an order to the servants. On the steps leading to the dai's a man and a woman converse about the miracle ; near them a young man praises the wine to an old woman. Among other groups in the fore- ground is a man who fills another man's glass. There are musicians in a gallery, beneath which is another table. In all there are about sixty figures. "Various incidents are introduced to give movement and effect to the piece, such as a child rolling along an empty cask, a mother caressing her infant, and a merry-andrew ; these, together with numerous accessories,
