About this artwork
Joy alights on the faces of a crowd of children staring spellbound up at a rommel-pot player. A rommel pot is a musical instrument made out of an earthenware jar with a stick inserted through an animal skin covering. The player rotates and rubs the stick to produce a droning noise akin to a duck call. It was often played during Shrovetide, the festive period before the start of Lent, also known as Carnival. This street performer wears a foxtail hat, a traditional attribute of a fool, highlighting the silliness of the occasion. Frans Hals’s workshop produced multiple versions of this scene, which was likely popular for the way the artist captured childhood delight.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Painting and Sculpture of Europe
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Artist
- Workshop of Frans Hals
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Title
- The Rommel-Pot Player
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Place
- Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1625–1635
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Medium
- Oil on panel
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Dimensions
- 39.1 × 30.5 cm (15 1/16 × 12 5/16 in.); (Framed): 68 × 61 × 7.7 cm (26 3/4 × 24 × 3 in.)
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Credit Line
- Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection
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Reference Number
- 1947.78
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/59894/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
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