The Rommel-Pot Player
Workshop of Frans Hals
c. 1630
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
39.1 × 30.5 cm (15 1/16 × 12 5/16 in.)
Classification
oil on panel
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
59894
Rights
Public Domain
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, highlightin...