Malle Babbe
In 1872 Henry James described the painting as "dashed upon the canvas by a brush superbly confident." Hals's authorship has been discounted since the 1880s but the picture must be by a close follower, and is based upon Hals's Malle Babbe of the early 1630s (Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen, Berlin) or a lost version of that composition. The title comes from an old inscription on the back of the Berlin painting and may be the nickname of a Haarlem personality. In the seventeeth century, owls were often associated with fools or vulgar behavior. A Dutch proverb, "drunk as an owl," is recalled by the woman's large tankard in the canvas in Berlin.
Artwork Details
- Title: Malle Babbe
- Artist: Style of Frans Hals (Dutch, second quarter 17th century)
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 29 1/2 x 24 in. (74.9 x 61 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, 1871
- Object Number: 71.76
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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