O Alegre Beberrão (The Merry Drinker) - Frans Hals

O Alegre Beberrão (The Merry Drinker) - Frans Hals
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdã, Holanda
OST - 81x66 - 1628-1630

This militiaman merrily raises his glass to toast us – who would not wish to join him? The execution is just as free and easy as the sitter himself: the swift, spontaneously applied brushstrokes enhance the portrait’s sense of liveliness and animation. The man actually seems to be moving. This bravura painting style ensured the continued success of Frans Hals.

A composição acima é uma pintura de gênero. Nela, o pintor emprega tons claros e o uso de larga área fortemente colorida para efeito de contraste. Pela posição em que se encontra, tem-se a impressão de que o retratado, impregnado de vitalidade, foi congelado no tempo, com seus lábios entreabertos, como se estivesse prestes a proferir alguma palavra, com a  mão direita aberta, num gesto típico que acompanha a fala, como se fotografado tivesse sido.

The painting shows a man wearing a leather jerkin, lace collar and cuffs, and a floppy hat tipped at an angle. He is gesturing with his right hand and holding a glass of white wine in his left hand. He seems caught in a moment of discussion with the viewer. A medallion dangles from his neck chain, which Hofstede de Groot claimed was a likeness of Prince Maurice of Orange. Various experts have claimed the painting represents the sense of taste. In old Dutch inventories, the theme of a "merry drinker" or "jolly toper" occurs often, and this was probably not a portrait but meant as a genre piece.