Description of the picture:
Laughing Cavalier – Frans Hals. Canvas, oil. 83 x 67.3 cm
If you look at the entire gallery of artists who created Dutch painting during the Golden Age, then you will immediately notice a huge number of humorous paintings, portraits, sketches depicting laughing and rejoicing people.
Ladies and gentlemen, military shooters and children, burghers and ordinary people, they all smile at each other or looking at the viewer. They laugh at a funny joke, make fun of a clumsy reveler, have fun at fairs.
And among a number of magnificent Dutch, Frans Hals stands out. His ability to instantly grasp the essence of his character, energy and facial expressions is perfectly represented in the film “Laughing Chevalier”.
At first glance, of course, the costume of this dandy splendidly painted by the author attracts attention. The folds and creases of a snow-white collar, delicate cuffs, a camisole brightly embroidered with colored threads, and the soft sheen of a black cape amaze with its naturalness and splendor.
But one may wonder – ""And where is the laugh?"" After all, the lips of a young man are compressed, the hand is importantly supports the side and the whole posture and the most beautiful camisole suggests that a solemn portrait was being prepared.
The author suggests taking a closer look at the face of a gallant gentleman. First of all, in his slightly narrowed, with a sort of cunning, look directed at the viewer.
It seems that even a second and his tightly pressed lips will blur in a sly smile, and his eyes will wink mockingly. A dashingly shifted hat and a mustache raised up complement the overall impression of a man – a young, self-confident, but certainly perky, with a barely restrained laugh in his mischievous and happy eyes.
The great Frans Hals knows how to convey laughter, this elusive emotion, without unnecessary additions to the canvas – he only needs a brush and a character who was able to captivate and infect the author with his energy."