Laughing Boy. 마우리츠하위스(Mauritshuis). 덴하그(Den Haag, 헤이그:Hague)

Laughing Boy. 마우리츠하위스(Mauritshuis).

덴하그(Den Haag, 헤이그:Hague). 네덜란드(Netherland)

Frans Hals (1580~1666.8.26)

Laughing Boy

c. 1625

Oil on panel

30.4cm

This cheerfully laughing boy with sparkly eyes and dishevelled hair is not a portrait, but a ‘tronie’ – a study of a laughing child. Laughing figures are unusual, as laughter is one of the most difficult ｅxpressions to capture. The virtuoso Hals painted the boy very directly and spontaneously, using remarkably loose brushstrokes. And yet he knew exactly what he was doing. The bridge of the boy’s nose, for example, is painted with a single well-placed stroke of white.

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