A Group of Standing Monks and other Figures

Art Historical Context

In the 1630s–40s, during the Dutch Golden Age, Jan Lie crafted this lively pen and brown ink drawing, *A Group of Standing Mon and other Figures*. Measuring nearly 11 by 10 inches, it depicts a cluster of robed monks alongside secular figures, their postures suggesting casual conversation or contemplation. Lievens, a close contemporary and sometime collaborator of Rembrandt in Leiden, was renowned for his bold draftsmanship, using fluid lines to convey volume, movement, and expressive gestures typical of Baroque naturalism. Pen and brown ink was a favored medium among Dutch artists for its immediacy, allowing rapid sketches that served as studies for paintings or standalone works. Lievens' economical yet energetic strokes here capture the textures of drapery and the varied stances of his subjects, highlighting his mastery in grouping figures to evoke depth and narrative potential—perhaps alluding to religious or everyday scenes amid the era's Protestant-Catholic tensions. Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2018 through generous donor funds, this drawing exemplifies Lievens' underappreciated genius, offering visitors a window into 17th-century studio practice and the artistry of observation.

About the Artist

Jan Lievens · 1607–1674

Jan Lievens (1607–1674) was born in Leiden and showed exceptional artistic promise from an early age, beginning his training with the local painter Joris van Schooten before traveling to Amsterdam around 1617 to study for two years under Pieter Lastman—the same teacher who would later instruct Rembrandt van Rijn. Lievens and Rembrandt, near-contemporaries born in the same city, subsequently shared...