It is hard to find paintings more vivid and vibrant than those by Frans Hals (1583-1666). This was also noticed by nineteenth-century Realist and Impressionists artists like Gustave Courbet and Edouard Manet, who saw him as a forerunner. Many of them even went on ‘pilgrimage’ and visited Hals' hometown city Haarlem to study his work in real. They particularly admired the seemingly effortless and spontaneous way in which he applied the paint on his canvas. In their eyes, Hals seemed to catch life itself in his art, working in an impulsive and unrestrained manner.
Yet Frans Hals was less ‘wild’ than they might have thought. Modern technical research proves that he was quite calculative: like all his colleagues, he meticulously built up his paintings in different layers, most of them based on an underdrawing.
That does not take away from the wonderfully lifelike and realistic impression (to use those words) that Hals conveys in his works. Thanks to his virtuosity this Merry Drinker comes across as a person that (except maybe for his clothes) you might encounter in a bar and have a chat with. Frans Hals’ strength is that – although he covers the canvas with daringly liberal strokes, patches and daubs - seen from a distance, it all fits together. That optical illusion supplies a very convincing picture of this irresistible fellow.
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