Boy with a Lute
Overturning his wineglass, this young musician indicates to the beholder that he is in need of a refill. This painting was not intended as a portrait of a specific individual but rather of a generic type. Such images allowed artists like Hals to paint more freely and depart from decorum—for example, the boy’s toothy grin would never have appeared in a formal portrait of a paying customer.
Artwork Details
- 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
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Frans Hals
ca. 1616–17
Thomas Coenraet Boekhout
ca. 1700
Rosa Bonheur
1852–55
Frans Hals
1623
Dutch
1740–60
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