Jan Steen depicts a scene that highlights a wide variety of moods and activities, which altogether create an energetic environment.

[1] Grayish green and yellow floral vines take up the upper portion of this painting, giving it visual depth.

[1] A woman in a greenish-yellow top and grey skirt sits at the very front of the painting, while her child in a bright orange dress stands and gazes at the entertainment with amusement in her eyes.

[1] The kermis is a Dutch fair, an important cultural event and social gathering for the people of the Netherlands.

[1] Painting a kermis fair allowed artists the opportunity to show emotional expressions in their subjects.

[2] Numerous artists started painting peasant themes as the Dutch Golden Age, which was a period of relative peace and prosperity.

[1][2] It was a popular occurrence for the Dutch people to collect paintings that displayed their values, beliefs, and daily activities such as those depicted in The Dancing Couple.

[1][2] Some of the activities shown in these artworks are cooking, cleaning, talking, family dinners, farm life, and children playing.

[1][2] Peasant themes in Dutch paintings grew in popularity due it being a new perspective on citizens daily lives, as opposed to the depiction of the wealthy and upper-class lifestyles.

[1] Peasant themes were important to the everyday people of the Netherlands as this style of art reflected their traditions, cultures, and lifestyles, as shown in The Dancing Couple.

[5][3] The Dancing Couple is one of many seventeenth-century Dutch Art pieces which reflected the lifestyle of everyday people.

[5] Other symbols such as the birds and animals are shown in the form of chickens trapped in wooden cages on the top of someone's head and hanging from the ceiling.

[5][1] Jan Steen is commonly known for presenting all five human senses: sound, sight, touch, taste, and smell.

[6] This was not an easy feature to depict in artwork as it required the artist to focus on the smaller details of their subjects.

[6] Steen shows a common reoccurrence throughout the majority of his paintings where he gives his subjects a “clarity of humanity” within their facial expressions and movement.

[1] They are in an outdoor environment where flowers are shown scattered on the ground, vines weave in between the wooden panels, and fresh food is served on the table.