The Drunken Couple, Jan Havicksz. Steen, c. 1655 - c. 1665

The Drunken Couple, Jan Havicksz. Steen, c. 1655 - c. 1665

oil on panel, h 52.5cm × w 64cm More details

A man and woman are so drunk that they are unaware they are being robbed. Their foolishness is underscored by the print on the partition. It depicts an owl, considered a stupid creature in the 17th century. After all, it could not see by day, not even with a candle or eyeglasses. The drunken couple is thus just as blind as the owl, a message that survives in the English idiom ‘blind as a bat’.

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