Why The Laughing Cavalier's Title Doesn't Make Sense

The Laughing Cavalier is neither laughing nor a cavalier. But he has become a symbol of his painter’s style and an inspiration for modern artists. The Laughing Cavalier was painted in 1624 by Dutch artist Frans Hals. Not much is known about the portrait’s subject. A Latin inscription in the upper right corner reveals that he was 26 years old. Otherwise, the only hints come from his pose and elaborate dress. The man’s embroidered doublet, lace collar, and gilded rapier pommel show that he was wealthy. His left-facing position suggests that he was a bachelor. Portraits of married couples at that time showed men facing right, toward their wives. Although well regarded during his lifetime, Hals died poor in 1666. He would fall into obscurity until the 19th century. After Hals’s death, The Laughing Cavalier was sold around the Netherlands. It was eventually acquired by the comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier. His art collection was auctioned in 1865 in Paris. The 4th marquess of Hertford purchased The Laughing Cavalier at this auction. During the 1870s the painting was exhibited publicly at the Bethnal Green museum in London. It was around this time that The Laughing Cavalier gained its name, although it’s not clear why. Cavaliers were cavalrymen, not wealthy nobles. What’s more, the work was completed almost 20 years before the English Civil Wars. So in either sense of the word, the painting’s subject was probably not a cavalier. Hals’s portraits became an inspiration for 19th-century artists. Vincent van Gogh especially admired the fine color detail of The Laughing Cavalier. He noted that “Frans Hals must have had 27 blacks.” Hals has since been praised for his devotion to portraiture. His paintings captured every echelon of Dutch society, from barmaids to the bourgeoisie. The Laughing Cavalier has become the most iconic of his individual portraits. This is perhaps because of the subject’s striking expression and Hals’s incredible attention to detail. Hals is now regarded as one of the best artists of the Dutch Golden Age, along with Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer.