A Party at Table

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A group of cheerful young people crowd around a small table in an elegant room. The fashionable clothing they wear, some of which is very colourful, differs from the sombre black costumes we can see in many Dutch portraits of the time. Dirck Hals specialised in scenes of people feasting and enjoying themselves. Known as ‘merry companies’, these images derive from representations of biblical subjects and were often engraved with moralising verses condemning foolish and extravagant behaviour. Here, the group’s ostentatious attire, the large plate of oysters and the golden drinking cup might be signs of potentially excessive and dissolute conduct. Dirck was the younger brother of the painter Frans Hals, who influenced him with his painterly and colourful technique.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Party at Table

Date

1626

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 28 x W 38.8 cm

Accession number

NG1074

Acquisition method

Bought, 1879

Work type

Painting

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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