Merry Company on a Terrace
Artist: Dirck Hals (Dutch, 1591 - 1656)
Date: 1623
Dimensions:
Painting: 13 3/4 × 15 3/8 in. (34.9 × 39.1 cm)
Frame: 15 3/8 × 21 1/4 × 2 in. (39.1 × 54 × 5.1 cm)
Medium: Oil on panel
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of The Georgia Welles Apollo Society
Object number: 2018.30
Label Text:Dirck Hals was a younger brother of the more famous painter Frans Hals. Dirck Hals specialized in genre scenes—fictionalized images of everyday life. His favorite subject was gatherings of wealthy couples at leisure, known as “merry companies.”
Here, 10 small-scale figures interact on a terrace. The dandy in red and his partner attract the attention of many of the others. The not-so-subtle presence of a sculpture of Cupid at the upper right suggests that courtship and love may be central to this amiable social gathering.
Here, 10 small-scale figures interact on a terrace. The dandy in red and his partner attract the attention of many of the others. The not-so-subtle presence of a sculpture of Cupid at the upper right suggests that courtship and love may be central to this amiable social gathering.
On view