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Merrymakers at Shrovetide, Frans Hals, ca. 1616–17
Frans Hals, portraitFrans HalsDutch, 1581–1666

Merrymakers at Shrovetide

ca. 1616–17 · Painting

Can I see it?

Yes, on view now

Where is “Merrymakers at Shrovetide” now? The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gallery 637, New York. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York, United States

Room637

Open now· until 9:00 PM

On public display.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum
On the mapMuseum page

About the painting

Shrovetide Revellers, also known as Merrymakers at Shrovetide, is a painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals, painted in around 1616–17. It is one of the earliest surviving works by Hals, and has been held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City since 1913. The painting shows people festivities at Shrovetide (Dutch: Carnaval), an annual carnival of food and jollity which takes place before the Christian fasting season of Lent.

WikipediaCC BY-SA

Details

Accession number
14.40.605

What it shows

FoodBreadHappinessManWomanPartyBagpipesEggs

In the catalog

PaintingsOilDutch paintingBaroque17th century

Sources

In the life of Frans Hals

The whole life

  1. 1608–1616 · Workplace

    Haarlem

  2. 1615

    His first wife, Anneke, dies

    In 1615, shortly after the birth of their third child, Anneke Harmensdochter dies; of the three children only Harmen survives infancy, and one dies before Hals's second marriage. Older stories of Hals abusing his first wife, as the biographer Seymour Slive has shown, concern another Haarlem resident of the same name: at the time of those charges Anneke was already dead.

  3. 1616 · Workplace

    Antwerp

  4. 1616

    To Antwerp to study Rubens and Van Dyck

    In 1616 Hals travels to Antwerp, the city where he was born, to study the work of Rubens and Van Dyck.

  5. February 1617

    Spaarndam: the wedding to Lysbeth Reyniers

    In February 1617 Hals marries Lysbeth Reyniers, with whom he will live for almost half a century. The wedding takes place in Spaarndam, and a few days later their daughter Sara is born.

  6. 12 February 1617

    Married: Lysbeth Reyniers

More by Frans Hals

All works
De vrolijke drinker, Frans Hals, c. 1628 - c. 1630

A Militiaman Holding a Berkemeyer, Known as the ‘Merry Drinker’

c. 1628 - c. 1630 · Rijksmuseum

Portrait of Duijfje van Gerwen (1618-1658), Frans Hals, c. 1637

Portrait of Duijfje van Gerwen (1618-1658)

c. 1637 · Rijksmuseum

Portrait of Jan van de Poll (1597-1678), Frans Hals, c. 1637

Portrait of Jan van de Poll (1597-1678)

c. 1637 · Rijksmuseum

Barbara Claes (died 1663, called “Malle Babbe”), Frans Hals

Barbara Claes (died 1663, called “Malle Babbe”)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait de Catarina Both van der Eem (1589-1666), troisième épouse de Paulus van Beresteyn, Hals, Frans, 1e quart du XVIIe siècle (1619 - 1620)

Portrait de Catarina Both van der Eem (1589-1666), troisième épouse de Paulus van Beresteyn

first quarter of the 17th century (1619–1620) · Musée du Louvre

Paulus Van Beresteyn, homme de loi à Haarlem, 1619 ou 1620 (?), Hals, Frans, 1e quart du XVIIe siècle (vers 1619 - 1620)

Paulus Van Beresteyn, homme de loi à Haarlem, 1619 ou 1620 (?)

first quarter of the 17th century (c. 1619–1620) · Musée du Louvre

Young Man and Woman in an Inn, Frans Hals, 1623

Young Man and Woman in an Inn

1623 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Smoker, Frans Hals, ca. 1623–25

The Smoker

ca. 1623–25 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the same room · Gallery 637, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Museum page
Merry Company on a Terrace, Jan Steen, ca. 1670

Jan Steen

Merry Company on a Terrace, ca. 1670

The Smoker, Frans Hals, ca. 1623–25

Frans Hals

The Smoker, ca. 1623–25

Young Man and Woman in an Inn, Frans Hals, 1623

Frans Hals

Young Man and Woman in an Inn, 1623

Fish Market, Joachim Beuckelaer, 1568

Joachim Bueckelaer

Fish Market, 1568

Two Children Teasing a Cat, Annibale Carracci

Annibale Carracci

Two Children Teasing a Cat

The Lovesick Maiden, Jan Steen, ca. 1660

Jan Steen

The Lovesick Maiden, ca. 1660

Guardroom with the Deliverance of Saint Peter, David Teniers the Younger, ca. 1645–47

David Teniers

Guardroom with the Deliverance of Saint Peter, ca. 1645–47

The Smokers, Adriaen Brouwer, ca. 1636

Adriaen Brouwer

The Smokers, ca. 1636

On the same theme · Food

All works on the theme
The Last Supper, after Leonardo da Vinci, probably 19th century

Leonardo da Vinci

The Last Supper, probably 19th century

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace, Vincent van Gogh, 1885

Vincent van Gogh

Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace, 1885

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Harvesters, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Harvesters, 1565

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Le couteau et la pomme (Knife and Apple), Pablo Picasso, 1947

Pablo Picasso

Le couteau et la pomme (Knife and Apple), 1947

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

The Barbaric Dance (Before Salomé and Hérod) [La danse barbare (devant Salomé et Hérode)], Pablo Picasso, 1905, published 1913

Pablo Picasso

The Barbaric Dance (Before Salomé and Hérod) [La danse barbare (devant Salomé et Hérode)], 1905, published 1913

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

The Frugal Repast (Le repas frugal), Pablo Picasso, 1904, published 1913

Pablo Picasso

The Frugal Repast (Le repas frugal), 1904, published 1913

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Still Life (Nature morte), Pablo Picasso, 1945

Pablo Picasso

Still Life (Nature morte), 1945

Not on view · National Gallery of Art

Candy Box, Andy Warhol, 1981

Andy Warhol

Candy Box, 1981

Not on view · National Gallery of Art