James Korn 1930s Movie Prop Copy of Frans Hals' Laughing Cavalier P3013

An excellent copy of what was in the 1930s as famous a painting in the popular imagination as any, The Laughing Cavalier. Carefully signed so as not to be taken for a forgery, it was probably used multiple times as part of the set dressing of Hollywood movies of the time.

Oil on Canvas. Measures 12" x 14", frame 15 1/2" x 17 1/2".

Born in Braila, Romania on March 21, 1873. James Korn studied at the Royal Academy in Munich and then taught in Berlin. By 1907 he had settled in Los Angeles where he was an interior decorator and portrait artist for the movie studios. He died there on June 21, 1961.

Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"

The Laughing Cavalier (1624) is a portrait by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals in the Wallace Collection in London, which has been described as "one of the most brilliant of all Baroque portraits". The title is an invention of the Victorian public and press, dating from its exhibition in the opening display at the Bethnal Green Museum in 1872–1875, just after its arrival in England, after which it was regularly reproduced as a print, and became among of the best known old master paintings in Britain. The unknown subject is in fact not laughing, but can be said to have an enigmatic smile, much amplified by his upturned mustache.