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Boy with a Lute

ca. 1625
Not on view
Inspired by Dutch Caravaggesque painters such as Gerrit van Honthorst and Hendrick ter Brugghen, Hals painted pictures of carefree musicians during the mid- to late 1620s. Here a young man pours a last drop of red wine onto his thumbnail, a signal to the innkeeper that he needs a refill, and to the viewer that (according to a Dutch rhyme of the period) "The glass is empty. Time is up." While Hals's authorship cannot be doubted, the picture's appearance has been affected by changes made by the artist himself and by later restorers. For example, the collar on the shirt and the lute string crossing over the thumb (thus obscuring the gesture's meaning) are not original.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Boy with a Lute
  • Artist: Frans Hals (Dutch, Antwerp 1582/83–1666 Haarlem)
  • Date: ca. 1625
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 28 3/8 x 23 1/4 in. (72.1 x 59.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
  • Object Number: 14.40.604
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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Paulus Verschuur (1606–1667), Frans Hals Dutch, Oil on canvas
Paulus Verschuur (1606–1667)
Frans Hals
1643
Frans Hals (1582/83–1666), Frans Hals Dutch, Oil on wood
Frans Hals (1582/83–1666)
Frans Hals
probably 1650s
Portrait of a Woman, Frans Hals Dutch, Oil on canvas
Portrait of a Woman
Frans Hals
ca. 1650, reworked probably 18th century
Malle Babbe, Frans Hals Dutch, Oil on canvas
Malle Babbe
Frans Hals
Merrymakers at Shrovetide, Frans Hals Dutch, Oil on canvas
Merrymakers at Shrovetide
Frans Hals
ca. 1616–17

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