Artists
Hals, Frans
Portrait of an Artist
Frans Hals is widely regarded as one of the most important Dutch Golden Age painters alongside Rembrandt and Vermeer. His virtuosic portraits can be found in the most prestigious museums around the world, including the Rijksmuseum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre and his namesake museum in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Hals' works are instantly recognizable and renowned for his mastery of oil painting and his overwhelming contributions to the genre of portraiture. Hals' painterly brushwork and rendering of surface and texture have earned him a preeminent place in the canon of art history.He was based in Haarlem and occasionally traveled to Amsterdam for commissions, though he preferred to stay in his hometown, where he primarily captured the city's elite and civic guardsmen. Hals' paintings showcase his unique ability to reveal the intimate details of a sitter's personality by accurately capturing the anatomical elements of a face. Scholars today consider Hals ahead of his time and note the groundbreaking sensibility of modernity in his 17th-century works. Hals' painterly brushwork and rendering of surface and texture have earned him a preeminent place in the canon of art history.
Frans Hals Self Portrait. Circa 1650. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Source.
Education and Career:
In his youth, Hals studied under another Flemish émigré, Karel van Mander (1548-1606), and at the age of 27, he became a member of the city's Guild of Saint Luke. The earliest known works by Hals are impressive formal portraits he produced between 1612 and 1614 when he was about thirty years old. His artistic breakthrough came in 1616, with the life-size group portrait entitled The Banquet of the Officers of the St George Militia Company, which captured a militia in which Hals himself served. This triumph brought Hals the gaze of Haarlem's most prestigious dignitaries and merchants, a clientele that would request Hals' work for the rest of his life.Although Hals' work was in demand throughout his life, he experienced financial difficulties. His family's large size coupled with the reality that no Dutch portraitists were paid handsomely resulted in continuous debt-related incidents throughout his lifetime. To make ends meet, in addition to painting, he worked as an art dealer and restorer.
As an artist, Hals followed his own innovative techniques, deviating from the Mannerist styles of his teachers, including van Mander. Hals consistently explored revolutionary uses of light. He was fond of daylight and often used a silvery glow, which directly contrasted Rembrandt's contrasts of low light, creating the gloomy effect for which he is known. Beloved by Haarlem's most distinguished citizens both during and after his lifetime, Hals undeniably benefited from a long career that enabled him to grow and develop his genius, a fortune few artists of his time would receive.
Historical Context:
During the Dutch Golden Age, major breakthroughs in the arts and sciences were facilitated by Dutch control of the sea, the founding of the Dutch Republic, and increased wealth from burgeoning commerce through the Dutch East India Company. In this period, portrait artists enjoyed steady patronage as families sought to immortalize themselves in paint. Dutch families of the time wished to live moral, pious lives that reflected their Calvinistic modesty and to preserve the legacies of their families by keeping galleries of familial portraits.However, in a Post-Reformation Calvinist society, Dutch elites faced a delicate balance between displaying the bountiful fruits of the Dutch East India Company's global prowess through their attire while still appearing moral and restrained. Although 17th-century artists often portrayed garments that appeared reserved, the superb quality of their dark silks, cotton and linens would have been evident to contemporary viewers, as would the costly lace in collars, cuffs and bonnets. The dichotomy of perceived restraint and underlying wealth permeates explorations of Dutch values and sensibilities during the Golden Age. Thus, virtuosic painters like Frans Hals toed this fine line to both conceal and highlight their sitter's "Embarrassment of Riches."
Legacy:
As an inspiration for both historic and contemporary art enthusiasts alike, Frans Hals is remembered as one of the greatest Old Master painters the world has ever seen. Among the countless artists inspired by his oeuvre, both Edouard Manet and Vincent Van Gogh have produced artworks that emulate Hal's use of color in his emotionally evocative portraits.
Frans Hals’ works grace the walls of the most renowned museums in the world including the Rijksmuseum, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Hals’ namesake museum in Haarlem in the Netherlands. Hals’ compositions are instantly recognizable by both art connoisseurs and casual museum-goers alike. Hals’ triumphant ability with portraiture has been the subject of several seminal exhibitions mounted at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art and The Wallace Collection.
Quick Facts:
Born: 1582 in Antwerp, Netherlands
Death: August 26, 1666 in Haarlem, Dutch Republic
Full Name: Frans Hals the Elder
Spouses: Lysbeth Reyniers (married 1617–1666)
Anneke Harmensdochter (married 1610–1615)
Children: Frans Hals the Younger, Jan Hals, Harmen Hals, Reynier Hals, Nicolaes Hals, Adriaentje Hals, Jacob Hals
5 Most Famous Works:
- The Laughing Cavalier (1624): This painting is one of Hals' most famous works. It depicts a young man with a prominent mustache and a feathered hat, who is shown laughing with his hand on his hip.
- Portrait of a Man (1640): This portrait is one of Hals' later works and shows an older man with a serious expression. The painting is notable for its exceptional use of light and shadow.
- Malle Babbe (1633-35): This painting shows a woman in a tavern holding a mug of beer, with an owl in the background. This painting is also known as The Witch of Haarlem and features a woman who likely suffered from mental illness or alcoholism.
- The Regents of the Old Men's Almshouse (1664): This group portrait shows the regents of an almshouse in Haarlem, where Hals spent the last years of his life. The painting is notable for its loose brushstrokes and animated depiction of the figures.
- The Jolly Toper (1628-1630): This painting, as known as The Merry Drinker, shows a man with a glass of beer, looking directly at the viewer with a mischievous smile.
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