The Merry Drinker
Frans Hals
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.
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