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Notes
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A group of cheerful young people crowd around a small table in an elegant room. The fashionable clothing they wear, some of which is very colourful, differs from the sombre black costumes we can see in many Dutch portraits of the time. Dirck Hals specialised in scenes of people feasting and enjoying themselves. Known as ‘merry companies’, these images derive from representations of biblical subjects and were often engraved with moralising verses condemning foolish and extravagant behaviour. Here, the group’s ostentatious attire, the large plate of oysters and the golden drinking cup might be signs of potentially excessive and dissolute conduct. Dirck was the younger brother of the painter Frans Hals, who influenced him with his painterly and colourful technique.
Title
A Party at Table
Date
1626
Medium
Oil on oak
Measurements
H 28 x W 38.8 cm
Accession number
NG1074
Acquisition method
Bought, 1879
Work type
Painting
