The Idlers Jan Steen Oil on panel; 39 x 30 cm In this canvas Jan Steen seems to have depicted his wife Marguerite and himself. The scene is represented with the gentle humour typical of works by Steen. The artist gives a perfect characterisation of personalities: the young woman asleep with her head on the table and the young man ironically smiling. The faithful depiction of domestic objects also confirms our impression of their characters. This portrait shows us one side of Steen's life - painting could not provide for his big family so he had to keep a tavern.