Lot 1038 D α

Dirck Hals specialised in the depiction of merry company very early on. The motif was introduced to him by the painter Willem Buytewech from Rotterdam, who lived in Haarlem from 1612 to 1617. In his genre scenes, Hals drew inspiration from the painter Buytewech, as well as his brother Frans Hals.
The present panel, dated 1634, was painted at a time when Dirck Hals was adopting a new colour scheme in his works. A subdued palette of ochre, brown, and olive tones superseded the bright and vivid colours he had previously favoured. This change of palette can be observed among many of Dirck Hals' contemporaries and is described as the “tonal phase” of 17th century Dutch painting.