Merrymakers at Shrovetide by Hals - Poster

This painting is on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the centre is a woman dressed in a colourful, carnivalesque, embroidered costume. She raises her right hand. She wears a wreath of laurel on her head and red beads around her neck and arms. Next to her are two comical characters. Six other characters surround the three central figures. Frans Hals painted these surrounding people very loosely. The people celebrate Shrovetide, a kind of Mardi Gras, in the days before Lent starts. To the left of the woman (from our point of view) is an older man grabbing her shoulder. He tries to say something to her. This man is called Peeckelhaering (which means pickled herring), and he can be recognised by two herrings hanging on a cord around his neck (see the two herrings next to the lower arm of the woman). Other items hanging on this cord are sausages, beans, a mussel, broken eggs, and a pig foot. In his right hand, he holds a foxtail. On her right is a man with a red cap looking at her. He makes a suggestive gesture with his hands. A more detailed description of this painting can be found at https://www.tripimprover.com/blog/merrymakers-at-shrovetide-by-frans-hals.