The Drunken Couple

The Drunken Couple is a c.1655-1665 oil on oak panel painting by Jan Steen, now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Adriaan van der Hoop left it and the rest of his collection to the city of Amsterdam in 1854. It was initially assigned to the Museum van der Hoop before being moved to its present home on 30 June 1885.
The canvas depicts a drunken couple so inebriated that they are completely unaware of the intruders skulking in the background. The theme is reinforced by the print of an owl above their heads; in 17th century the owl was a metaphor for being stupid and blind, reputedly not able to see in the daytime.