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Merry Company with Flutist
Merry Company with Flutist
Image © Worcester Art Museum, all rights reserved.

Merry Company with Flutist

Artist (Dutch, 1591–1656)
Dateabout 1628
Mediumoil on panel
Dimensionspanel: 17.5 x 16.4 cm (6 7/8 x 6 7/16 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. John Adam, Jr.
Object number1994.289.2
Label TextDirck Hals, younger brother of the famous portrait painter Frans Hals, specialized in small-scale social scenes. These two complementary compositions exhibit the basic components of the so-called Merry Company themes: drinking, smoking and music making. In their day, such pictures were referred to as moderne beelden or "modern figures." This reference to contemporary subject matter helped to differentiate these works from the religious, historical and mythological subject matter that had dominated painting up to this time.ProvenanceDr. J. Reiner, Amsterdam Dr. C. Benedict, Berlin, 1928 David M. Koestler Gallery Zurich and Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Amsterdam Mr. and Mrs. John Adam, Jr.
On View
Not on view