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

The Meagre Company (detail)

1633-37
Oil on canvas
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Only the ensign on the left, with the shiny satin jacket, is entirely by Frans Hals's hand. The skill with which this figure was painted did not escape the critical eye of Vincent van Gogh, who wrote after visiting the Rijksmuseum in 1885 of the 'orange, white and blue fellow in the left corner... seldom have I seen a more divinely beautiful figure.'




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