A Man blowing Smoke at a Drunken Woman
- Artist: Jan Steen
- Date: about 1660-5
- Medium: oil on wood
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the "A Man blowing Smoke at a Drunken Woman" by Jan Steen. Painted around 1660, it's an oil on wood piece that captures a rather rambunctious tavern scene. In this painting, one man blows smoke into the ear of a sleeping woman, while another looks on with amusement.
This seems like a lewd and mocking scene to modern viewers, but in 17th-century Holland, it would have been considered a joke that poked fun at the vices of the time. Alcohol and tobacco were viewed as dangers to a woman's virtue, so this kind of humor was acceptable.
Note how Steen uses visual jokes to expose dissolute behavior. In other paintings by him, you'll see similar scenes of smokers being robbed or men offering women pipes as a means of seduction. The sleeping woman in the background is likely working in a brothel, adding another layer of meaning to this painting.
Tobacco was still a relatively new and feared substance at this time, associated with idleness and sexual incontinence. Even blowing smoke had lewd connotations, which is why Steen's message here is cautionary rather than celebratory. Despite the changing reputation of tobacco in the Netherlands during the 1660s, Steen's painting remains a commentary on its dangers.
See it in person
A Man blowing Smoke at a Drunken Woman hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
