Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Museum: Painting Is a Genuine Jan Steen Artwork, not a Copy

A painting previously thought to be an 18th century copy of a work by artist Jan Steen is actually an original by the Dutch master, a museum announced Friday.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A painting previously thought to be an 18th century copy of a work by artist Jan Steen is actually an original by the Dutch master, a museum announced Friday.

Researchers at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague made the discovery while preparing for a new exhibition.

The museum's director, Emilie Gordenker, said curator Ariane van Suchtelen suspected that the painting, "The Mocking of Samson," was an original Steen.

"After further research, restoration and technical examination, we have come to the conclusion that not only is this painting by the master himself, but that it is still in excellent condition," Gordenker said. "It's as if the canvas is fresh out of Jan Steen's studio - thrilling!"

The painting is part of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts collection in the Belgian city of Antwerp. It's to be displayed at an exhibition "Jan Steen's Histories," that starts Feb. 15 at the Mauritshuis.

Unusually for such an old painting — Steen completed it in 1676 — the canvas is still attached to its original wooden strainer with the original nails.

Categories / Arts, International

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...