HALS, Frans
(b. 1580, Antwerpen, d. 1666, Haarlem)

Shrovetide Revellers (detail)

c. 1615
Oil on canvas
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The bearded man in the centre of the painting holds a foxtail in his right hand, while with the left he paws the shoulder of a young blonde. The assumption that the girl is no lady but a young man in drag is supported by the hairstyle, which looks peculiar for a woman of the time.