Painting by the Dutch painter Jan Steen
Wine is a Mocker is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch artist Jan Steen, created in 1663–1664, now in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California.[1] Its title is drawn from a biblical proverb.[1]
The canvas depicts a scene outside an inn where a well-dressed drunken woman is about to be carried home in a wheelbarrow. The proverb, written above the door of the inn,[1] reads: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise".[2] The painting illustrates the point that no one, of whatever status, is immune from the unedifying effects of strong drink.[1] Steen, who ran a tavern himself, would be well acquainted with such debauchery.
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