Skittle Players outside an Inn 1663

Jan Steen painted Skittle Players outside an Inn with oil on canvas, likely sometime in the mid-17th century. Steen worked as an innkeeper during his life, so he knew this environment well. The material qualities of the paint – the way it's applied in thin layers for the sky and thicker strokes for the figures – give the scene a sense of everyday life. Consider the labor involved: from grinding pigments to stretching the canvas, oil painting was a craft. Steen was part of a guild system where skills were honed through years of apprenticeship. The setting shows us a leisure activity, skittles, enjoyed outside a tavern. Wooden skittles and balls, objects of craft themselves, suggest a society where even recreation involved material culture. The very act of painting this scene elevates everyday life to art. Ultimately, Steen's work blurs the lines between high art and the crafts of daily existence, reminding us that both are products of labor and cultural value.