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The Merry Drinker

Frans Hals

Frans Hals the Elder was a Dutch Golden Age painter, normally of portraits, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group portraiture.

Max Resolution:2024×2475 PX

Title:The Merry Drinker

Artists:Frans Hals

Date:1628 - 1630

Style:Baroque

Genre:portrait,tronie

Medium:oil,canvas

Location:Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Dimensions:81×66.5 cm

Copyright:Public domain

The Merry Drinker is a painting by Frans Hals, from 1628-1630.

The painting has dimensions 81 x 66.5 centimeters. It is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

The painting shows a man wearing a leather jerkin, lace collar and cuffs, and a floppy hat tipped at an angle. He is gesturing with his right hand and holding a glass of white wine in his left hand. He seems caught in a moment of discussion with the viewer. A medallion dangles from his neck chain, which Hofstede de Groot claimed was a likeness of Prince Maurice of Orange. Various experts have claimed the painting represents the sense of taste. In old Dutch inventories, the theme of a "merry drinker" or "jolly toper" occurs often, and this was probably not a portrait but meant as a genre piece.