The Merry Drinker

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

The Merry Drinker
Dutch: De vrolijke drinker
ArtistFrans Hals
Year1628-1630
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions81 cm × 66.5 cm (32 in × 26.2 in)
LocationRijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Description

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

Analysis

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.[1] 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.

References

  1. Catalog nr. 63, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth century Based on the work of John Smith, Volume III (Frans Hals and Adriaen & Isaac van Ostade), by Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, with the assistance of Kurt Freise and Dr. Kurt Erasmus, translated by Edward G. Hawke, Macmillan & Co., London, 1910

Sources

  • Frans Hals, a catalogue raisonné of Hals works by Seymour Slive: Volume Three, the catalogue, National gallery of Art: Kress Foundation, Studies in the History of European Art, London - Phaidon Press, 1974
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