Template:POTD/2023-12-22
The Laughing Cavalier is an oil-on-canvas portrait by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals, completed in 1624. The title is an invention of the Victorian public and press, dating from its exhibition in the opening display at the Bethnal Green Museum from 1872 to 1875, just after its arrival in England. The Laughing Cavalier was described by art historian Seymour Slive as "one of the most brilliant of all Baroque portraits" and has been used in several derivative works, such as the logo of McEwan's beer, which depicts a modified version of the cavalier enjoying a glass of the drink. The painting is now housed in the Wallace Collection in London.Painting credit: Frans Hals