Jan Miense Molenaer was a Dutch Golden Age genre painter whose style was a precursor to Jan Steen’s work during the Dutch Golden Age painting. Jan was born in the year 1610 in Haarlem, Netherlands.
He was married to Judith Leyster, who was also a genre painter, as well as a portraitist and painter of still-life. He shared a studio with his wife.
According to available records, Jan and Judith may have met during their time of education, as both of them may have been pupils of Frans Hals.
What happened to Judith Leyster’s husband?
Jan Miense Molenaer died in 1668, and was buried on September 19, 1668, in Haarlem, Netherlands. However, the cause of his death has not been made known to the public till today.
During his career, Jan developed a style like that of Dutch genre painter, Adriaen van Ostade. His genre works often depicted players of music, such as his The Music Makers (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest), The Duet (Seattle Art Museum), or Family Making Music (Frans Hals Museum).
Notably, Jan’s paintings cleverly depicted biblical stories in his own time and surroundings, such as representing a scene from Peter’s Gospel set in a Dutch Tavern in The Denying of Peter (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest).
Source: Ghanafuo.com
