The Fingernail Test

In the 17th century, the gesture of tipping the glass down to see if a drop of wine appears on a fingernail was a method to show one wanted a refill. The scene is often shown with figures in theatrical costumes.

In his 1910 catalog of Frans Hals works Hofstede de Groot noted this painting may be the same one as a painting sold in Rotterdam in 1825 and wrote:

86. THE FINGER-NAIL TEST (or, The Mandoline-Player with a Wine-Glass). M. 210. Half-length. A mandoline-player sits at a table, with his body turned three-quarters right, but facing the spectator. In his uplifted right hand, with the little finger erect, he holds a green goblet downwards; under it is his left hand, also with the little finger erect. The top of his orange-yellow mandoline rests on his left arm; the bottom of it lies on the table. He has long hair, and wears a cap on the back of his head, to the right. He has a bright red costume with a greyish-purple cloak, white frills at his wrists, and a white band at the throat. An olive- green curtain hangs behind him. [Compare 74.] Canvas, 28 inches by 23 inches. Exhibited at Dublin, 1857. In the collection of J. Napper of Lough Crew Castle, Oldcastle, Meath. Sale. Dublin, autumn of 1906 (3990, Sulley). In the possession of the London dealers Dowdeswell. In the possession of the London dealer C. Wertheimer. In the possession of the Paris dealers Kleinberger and Wildenstein. In the collection of B. Altman, New York.^[2]

This painting could be related to Young Man with a Skull in which a boy is also wearing a beret and draped cloak, and is also similar to a painting with the same alternate name, Boy with a Glass and a Lute.

• List of paintings by Frans Hals
• List of paintings by Judith Leyster