Laughing boy with a flute

In 1620s Haarlem, Frans Hals turned out a run of laughing children, single figures caught mid-grin with a loose, rapid brush that almost no one else dared use. This boy with a flute was one of a pair, meant to stand for the senses, hearing on one side and taste on the other, a popular idea for decorating a room. Hals worked wet and fast, letting a few swift strokes stand for a collar or a curl, so the paint itself looks as lively as the face. Buyers loved the type, and this cheerful head was copied and imitated for centuries afterward. There is remarkably little actual detail in the face, and yet the boy still seems about to laugh out loud.