A highly gifted portraitist, Frans Hals had a supreme ability to characterise his sitters and make them appear lifelike. 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 his hip, upturned hat and moustache, and coy expression, imbue the portrait with a unique vitality. The black sash is particularly noteworthy as it showcases Hals’s dazzling capacity to paint using a limited colour palette, leading Vincent van Gogh to exclaim that "Frans Hals must have had 27 blacks"!

Read more about this painting on our search the collection pages.

Discover our other 'Meet the Expert' content here.

Find out more about the major 2021 exhibition featuring The Laughing Cavalier, Frans Hals: The Male Portraits.