A highly gifted portraitist, Frans Hals had a supreme ability to characterise his sitters. This exuberant portrait of a young man, aged 26, wearing a flamboyant costume is his most famous painting. The man’s confident pose with his left hand on the hip, and his upturned hat and moustache, imbue the portrait with a unique vitality. The black sash is particularly noteworthy as it showcases Hals’s dazzling capacity to paint quickly and convincingly using a limited colour palette.

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