Boy with a glass and a pewter jug

This little round panel is barely the width of a dinner plate. Around 1626 in Haarlem it hung as one of a set: Frans Hals had painted the five senses as ordinary children caught mid-gesture, and this drinking boy stands for taste. His pendant is a boy with a flute, for hearing. Haarlem had a brisk trade then in these single lively heads, painted quickly and cheaply to make a buyer smile. The speed still shows. The collar is a few wet strokes, the wine a smear of light, the grin caught before it could settle into a pose. Hals left the boy nameless, since a buyer was purchasing the idea of taste, and any cheerful young face would serve.