Jan Steen: The Marriage of Tobias and Sarah

The marriage of Tobias and Sarah was a painting done by Jan Steen in 1673. The piece of art was done using oil, painted on a canvas material. Jan Steen, who lived between 1626 and 1679, also named the work The Marriage Contract. According to Nash, Orr and Stewart (84), the theme of the picture is drawn from the book of Tobit 3:7-17 in the Old Testament. It was done based on the status of marriage during that time. The picture shows a priest instituting a wedding. The two lovers are sitting by either side of the president, ready to sign the marriage contract forms; that is probably a short time after exchanging vows. There are also other witnesses, as the setting proves the more to be in a religious place of worship. Tobias marries Sara as her parents watch the signing of the marriage contract, as visitors take to the party. It is Sara’s seventh marriage due to possession by a demon. However, Raphael the Archangel casts out the devil (Nash, Orr and Stewart 84).

The piece of art represented the kind of life present in the Netherlands during the Seventeenth Century. He aimed at exposing the knowledge he had about his surroundings. There are two main reasons that led Jan Steen to paint the painting. Firstly, Steen spent much of his life in Leiden since he belonged to the Rhetoricians. Secondly, he wanted to expose the positive aspect of the community he belonged to. He achieved this by redesigning some of the previous paintings and adding a positive aspect to them. For instance, the Rhetoricians at a Window displayed the real life of the Rederijikers (Liedtke 836-839).

In this painting, Steen highlighted some of the transformations that took place in Holland during the 17th Century. The painting was one among the many that gave hope to the residents. He used simple symbols that the residents and readers could interpret during that time. He chose to include a dog and oranges in the setting of the wedding to show that the couple would have a bright future together. These symbols also represented fertility and fidelity. Dogs represented loyalty, while cats represented infidelity in the Dutch culture. Additionally, Sara and Tobias stay away as the woman completes signing the contract. In the upper section, Archangel Raphael is present. The act of the couple staying away from the contract reinstated the holy nature of marriage as a union commissioned by God rather than bound by contracts. Such symbols were easy for the targeted audience to understand.

The painting also showed the role played by women in negotiating dowry price. It was at a time when marriages became commercialized because grooms got extorted for selfish gains. Other artists also produce arts to show how women got actively involved in the payment of bride price. An example is The Marriage Contract by Aert de Gelder (De Balzac and Wormeley). The mother was busy negotiating dowry as the couple and everyone else had fun dancing. Permit to finalize the marriage depends