The Merry Drinker

• The Merry Drinker
• A Civic Guardsman Holding a Berkemeier, known as 'The Merry Drinker'

The Merry Drinker

SK-A-135

signature, ligated monogram, centre right: ‘FH’

This work is a pinnacle of Hals’ bold and loose ‘rough’ style. The brushstrokes criss-cross the canvas, creating the impression of rapid execution as well as suggesting movement. The sitter, likely a civic guardsman or a military man based on his attire, is just about to raise his glass to toast with us.

H. Kaufmann, 'Die Fünfsinne in der Niederlänischen Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts', in: Kunstgeschichtliche Studien, Breslau 1943, p. 141, afb. 22 (misschien de smaak of meer speciaal de geneugten van het drinken).

painter: Frans Hals (signed by artist)

c. 1628 - c. 1630

olieverf op doek

height 81 cm x width 66.5 cm

purchase 1816

Public domain

…: sale, Baroness Hermina Jacoba van Leyden van Warmond, née Comtesse de Thoms (1744-1814), Warmond Castle, sold on the premises (P. van der Schley et al.), 31 July 1816, no. 13 (`un guerrier ayant un visage riant et tenant un verre à la main [...] sur bois; haut 2 pieds 7 pouces, longue 2 pieds 2 pouces´ [74.6 x 61.8 cm]), fl. 325, to De Vries, for the museum

• H. Kaufmann, 'Die Fünfsinne in der Niederlänischen Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts', in: Kunstgeschichtliche Studien, Breslau 1943, p. 141, afb. 22 (misschien de smaak of meer speciaal de geneugten van het drinken).
• F. Desbuissons, A l'enseigne du Bon Bock, in: La revue de Musée d'Orsay nr. 30 (automne 2010) 48, 14, p. 35, fig. 2
• Rijksmuseum Kunstkrant, Jaargang 33 (sept.-okt. 2007), nr. 5, p. 9

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:

https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200109347