RKD STUDIES

A4.2.2 - A4.2.6

... d in Detroit is close to the Laughing boy in the Mauritshuis (A3.4) in terms of the head turn and facial expression. Yet, it was executed independently after a template, which is especially noticeable in the zone around the eyes and nose. The composition is preserved in three further variants on panel of identical size, one of them a roundel. The face corresponds in all versions, whereas the dress varies....

... variants. Based on the differences in quality, Slive cast doubt on the relationship, while still placing the present painting at the top of his listing. However, based on the assumption of a shared workshop production process for marketable motifs, the connection between the two paintings cannot be entirely ruled out. Even the signature gains a different importance, which is only visib...

... d by the addition of a slightly more elaborate background. It was offered for sale in 2013 and 2014 as a work by Judith Leyster (1609-1660)....

B11 - B20

... an, possibly Judith van Breda of 1639 (A4.1.14).2 Since it appeared on the art market in 2008, and excellent reproductions are n...

... pears as a rapidly thrown down commemorative present rather than an ambitious self-representation. Therefore, it is hard to gauge what the purpose of the self-portrait could have been and why such a restrained image gave rise to so many repetitions. Walter Liedtke (1945-2015) assumed that ‘the desire of collectors to own images of famous artists evidently led to the production of more “self-portraits” that the sitter cared to paint himself’.5 Jacquelyn Coutré went even further when she said that the period from 1645 to 1650 ‘would have been an outstanding moment for him [Hals] to promote his achievements through the concept of the “self-portrait”.’6 However, we must not make assumptions on the basis of today’s high esteem for Hals and of modern marketing systems. We do need to consider the values and the behaviour of the art buyers in the 17th century. During his lifetime, neither was Hals viewed as an outstanding figure of contemporary painting, nor was the collecting of artist’s self-portraits common practice in Holland. There is also no comparable group of self-portraits known from Hals’s Haarlem colleagues – some of whom were much more successful and esteemed. Hals painted portraits as commissions from the sitters and their families, as well as for institutions. In addition, he created genre paintings for the open market. Both types of artworks were considered artistically at a lower level, and their purpose was the decorative furnishing of elegant houses. Hals’s products met a certain demand, and from time to time he also received personal appreciation. Nevertheless, most contemporary buyers of his paintings were not collectors, as far as we know from the preserved inventories. A ‘market’ for Frans Hals only came to pass in the last third of the 19th century.Nevertheless, during his time, some younger colleagues did value Hals’s creative achievements beyond the mere representational skill, which prompted them to buy his works. There are two such known cases. One is a tronie which the portrait painter Jan de Baen (1633-1702) lent to the meeting-room of the brotherhood of artists in The Hague between 1663 and 1669.7 The second case concerns a total of nine paintings which were documented in the ownership of the very wealthy Amsterdam marine painter, dyeworks owner, and probably also art dealer Jan van de Cappelle (1626-1679). The 1680 inventory of his estate lists nearly 200 paintings and over 7.000 drawings, of which there were 500 by Rembrandt alone.8 The works by Hals are:32. Een dito Conterfeijtsel [of the deceased] van Frans Hals.76. Een vrouwetrony van Frans Hals, sijnde sijn vrouw.77. Een dito trony van Frans Hals.78. Een tronytge van dito meester.88. Een trony van Frans Hals.99. Een Rommelpot van Frans Hal...

... lle Babbe (A1.103) was adopted and slightly altered in order to depict a fishwife. In addition, ...

... ely, however, the painting was created in the Hals workshop, possibly by Jan Hals (c. 1620-c. 1654). The unusually bright red jacket may be a later overpainting, which covers the dark folds and highlights underneath....

... and gilded wooden frame, bearing eight family coats-of-arms and the date 1645, which was most likely inspired by the first frame of the prime version....

A3.1 - A3.9

... that show this Peeckelhaering as a single figure, with a fox's tail over his right shoulder and hints of the necklace of sausages, eggs, and fish hanging from his left (A3.1b, A3.1c). Also, in these versions, the overcut half of the face from the New York painting is now completely and credibly reproduced, as is the white collar, which corresponds to the collar of the same model in the contemporaneous painting by Buytewech.6 Many details of the Peeckelhaering character found in Buytewechs's painting Merry company also agree with these observations.7 Taken together, these indicate that one or more representations of the model’s head and chest by Hals existed, which were also used as a model for the face of the male figure in the New York painting [5][6][7].Both faces of the male figures are more accurately captured in Buytewechs's drawings (D3, D4), than in Hals’s painting. Similarly, the cap of the man on the right has been modelled more coherently – which suggests the existence of more precisely elaborated templates. When it comes to the relation between Hals and Buytewech, the template for the drawing of the Peeckelhaering character may be similar to the portraits of the grandparents of the Haarlem painters Nicolaes de Kemp (1609-1672) and Jan de Kemp, which are mentioned in a deed dated 6 November 1656: ‘[the] portraits are made and painted by master Frans Hals the Elder and the “comparquement” by Buytewech, or otherwise called Witty Willem’.8 Slive adds in this context: ‘The meaning of “comparquement” is obscure, but it possibly refers to the kind of decorative cartouche which serves as a frame for Buytewech's drawing based on Hals's “Peeckelhaering”’.9 The examination of the individual parts of the New York painting proves that the depiction of the figures goes back to Hals' models, but these were not transferred onto the canvas by Hals himself. On the other hand, Buytewechs's drawings are subtle reproductions of lost works by Hals. We can imagine its colored appearance on the basis of the repetition in Musée Marmottan Monet (A3.1b)....

... frits Lugt, inv.no. 2212Slive noted that the dress of the seated young woman was altered t...

... r that is laid with the spoils of the hunt and baskets of fruit and vegetables.11 Compared to the cat in the window on the left and with the objects in the foreground of the ...

... ace these identify a virtuoso interplay of suggested form and a characterization of facial expression, while the two women’s faces are done in a commonplace or even clumsy manner. This is especially true with regard to the background figure on the right with her enormous hand, but also for the sweetheart on the left. Nevertheless, the shadow lines on the eyelids and the bridge of this girl’s nose are likely to be by the hand of the master. There is no question that the loose composition overall, but also the preparatory drawing of the protagonist’s clothing, and the design of the three-hand area, as well as the sketch of the green bed hanging form a coherent ensemble, initially designed by Hals himself. Yet, the painterly execution betrays a much weaker hand. This is already tangible in the areas of the collars and clothing. The paint layers visible today display the broad illuminated lines to the left of the girl’s nasal root and on her forehead as outlines of a first sketch for the painting [7]. These were smoothed over by the covering layer of overpainting. Sadly, overpainting has also blurred the shock of hair of the smoker which appears under the left hand of his sweetheart....

... s offered for sale at an auction in 1786, where also a drawn copy by Cornelis van Noorde (1731-1795) (D66) was offered under the same description.18 All attempts to identify this ‘Jonker Ramp’ remained in vain, which is why Valent...

... ved the unusually high auction price of CHF 175.000 at Koller’s in Zurich. In 1996 it was reoffered as ‘attributed to Frans Hals’ by the same firm with a hammer price of CHF 15.000....

... ation as early as 1868 and, if it is a more recent copy, was possibly painted together with its counterpart (B3A) in the 1860s at the earliest. That would be remarkable in view of the rediscovery of Hals, which only began in 1857 with Thoré-Bürger's exhibition reviews and catalogue entries....

... uth suggests that this is an overpainted original. Approximately a quarter of the surface, to the right above the face, has been cut out and supplemented with a differently structured piece of canvas. The background color has been applied all around the hair and shaded part of the face. The originally 1-2 mm wider jaw can still be observed, its contour shimm...

... c documentation of the face reveals differences when compared to the Portrait of Willem van der Camer (C16), whom I ...

... facial movements he captured, with the slightly raised right hand eyebrow, as well as the lighting and modelling. Deviating from his brushwork and handling, is the uniformly opaque, monotonous, and smoothly applied paint of the surface of the face, the ear, mouth, hair, and beard. The collar also appears depicted insecurely, especially when compared to the sovereignly executed collar of Jacob Pietersz. Olycan (1596-1638) from 1625 (A1.17). From these observations, it can be concluded that a design of the master was transferred onto the canvas by an assistant. However, the execution of the sleeve section on the left and the hand modelled in loose strokes can be attributed to Hals' own hand....

A2.8A - A2.12

... cob Matham (1571-1631), who had created the engraving after Hals’s portrait of Theodorus Schrevelius (1572-1653) in 1618 (C3). Adriaen Matham’s date of birth can only be deducted indirectly from a document of 6 December 1634, in which he stated being 35 years old.4 He would thus have been born in 1599. In 1622, Matham returned from Paris to Haarlem and served as an ensign in the Calivermen civic guard from 1624 to 1627. He may have been involved in arranging the commission for Hals’s present group portrait. Later, he was to execute engravings after three important portraits by Hals: that of Pieter van den Broecke (1585-1640) (C24), Pieter Christiansz. Bor (1559-1635) (C26) and Isaac Abrahamsz. Massa (1586-1643) (C27). He was personally close to Hals, which is proven by the fact that he became the godfather of Hals’s daughter Susanna at her baptism in 1634.5 Additionally, Matham was a member of the Dutch delegation to the king of Morocco in 1640-1641. His drawing and engraving of El Badi Palace in Marrakech are unique historical documents of its magnificent appearance before its destruction a few decades later.6The window in the background of Banquet of the officers of the Calivermen civic guard scene is glazed. The two wings each contain a round pane in the center depicting armored fighters. To the outer sides, there are rows of – probably local – coats of arms. Visible through the window is a group of trees with clusters of finger-shaped leaves, rendered in a style that can be related to Pieter de Molijn's (1595-1661) contemporaneous tree backdrops. It is obvious to assume him as the painter of this part [5]....

... ting. Hals’s involvement was obviously not worth mentioning separately.The painting was first published in 1910 by Hofstede de Groot as a work by Hals, referring to the Amsterdam sales of 1810 and 1817 where it had appeared. In the latter sale catalogue, it was listed as a work by Frans Hals and ‘P. Gijzen’, referring perhaps to the Flemish painter Peeter Gijsels (1621-1691), as Hofstede de Groot suggested.7This type of large-scale frui...

... e appears as the epitome of Hals’s gift of expression. The arrangement of the colorful sashes and flags creates a close cohesion of separate details. It is all the more astonishing that Hals’s autograph brushwork can be found to a higher degree in these accessory parts than in the faces. I myself was surprised at this discovery, which I owe to the study of high resolution photographs of the painted surface, illustrated here in several details [8][9][10]. Most astounding is the observation that Hals’s personal manner is only purely to be found in one face – that of Sergeant Cornelis Jansz. Ham (12) – and five hands. Additionally, all flags, sashes, collar, cuffs, weapons and feathers, as well as most doublets and sleeves show his typical brushwork (nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8). The figure of captain Johan Schatter (2) is also remarkable in this respect. In His sword, sash, and plumed hat display a wealth of brilliantly executed details, yet in the relatively smooth rendering of the face there are traces of a fine outline drawing – probably transferred from a preparatory design [11]....

... ond row in the center of the composition. It can be assumed that this figure was added later. Little is known about the sitter; he was a pharmacist in Haarlem and also a commissioner for small claims at the court there. Hals has painted his face delicately, with a thin layer of paint. His features are drawn in a few strokes with a flat brush[12]. If one compares this observation, which concentrates on a few highlights and shadows, with the face of Commander Van Loo (1), this graphic character appears to be missing in the latter. The commander's dominating eye and nose zones have been rendered in a pulpy manner with a soft brush, which were later reinforced with thick black contours. The area of the mouth and moustache is also depicted smoothly and captured stiffly [13]. It is equally astounding to compare the face of Captain Van der Horn (4) with that of his bust portrait by Hals from 1638 (A1.93) [14][15]. When facing the detail image, one might think they are looking at a portrait from the mid-19th century. The smoothly applied paint and its saturated tonality have nothing in common with the sheer, sketch-like bravura of the later portraits. Looking back to earlier examples, the head of Captain Backer (3) lends itself for comparison with the Portrait of an elderly man in the Frick Collection (A1.41).10 Biesboer even assumed that it was the same person.11 Here too, thick impasto contrasts with the watercolor-like lightness of Hals’s autograph single portraits....

... ndments while adjusting the whole image. The contributions by assistants (or by an assistant) are recognizable in the soft, less accentuated representation. An example can be found in the wax-like hand of Lieutenant Buttinga (5), which adjoins an assertively contoured cuff [16]. This latter area strikingly demonstrates Hals’s nuanced brushwork.Finally, we find an astonishing abundance of quite typical and highly virtuoso individual contributions by the master in the other, otherwise neglected marginal areas of the compositio...

... 6, but once this date had passed, neither reminders nor threats could induce him to continue his work in Amsterdam. The documents which record Hals’s proposals for the painting’s execution are instructive with regard to his work process. They state that Hals had imposed the condition that he could paint the painting in Haarlem. ‘although he had not been obliged to do so, he had subsequently agreed to go to Amsterdam to make the initial sketches of the officers’ heads, which he would then finish in Haarlem’. According to the guardsmen, ‘it had originally been agreed that Hals would do the portrait heads in Amsterdam and fill in the detail in Haarlem for a fee of 60 guilders a head. This was later raised to 66 guilders, provided he did the work in Amsterdam instead of Haarlem, and that he completed both the heads and the full figures there, as he had already started doing in some cases’. Hals’s response states that he was ‘prepared to move the painting from Amsterdam to his house in Haarlem, where he will first finish any of the officers’ dress which has not yet been painted. He will then do the heads, and assumes that no one will object to coming to Haarlem for the purpose. However, if six or seven of the officers are not prepared to make the journey he will bring the painting to Amsterdam, where he will fill in the remaining heads’.16...

... re with the fewest visible traces of Hals’s work- Codde: completion of the face and collar, as well as the rest of the figure14- Hals: sketch of the bearded face, the light reflections on the collar, the outline of the arm and hand- Codde: completion of the hair and collar, the rest of the figure15- Hals: sketch of the bearded face, the light reflections on the collar- Codde: completion of the collar, the rest of the figure16- Hals: sketch of the face with outline of the beard and the collar- Codde: completion of the shades on the face, hair, beard, and collar; the rest of the figureIn some instances smoothing overpaint is visible, for instance in the faces of ensign Bambeeck (3), officer Carel Gerard (8), Pieter Ranst (11) and of figures no. 7, 9 and 10 [18][19][20][21]22][23]. The portrait of Jan Pellicorne (12), on the other hand, shows the untouched brushstrokes of Hals: the beam of light running from the root of the nose to its tip has been captured in a single stroke of paint with a flat brush [24]. In contrast, the faces of figures no. 13 and 16 are uniformly executed in Codde’s somewhat fibrous manner[25][26]. Weaker parts are the posture Pieter Ranst (11), who seems to be tilting backwards, and the repetitive superimposition of the hands of figures no. 15 and 16 [27]. As tightly as the eight guardsmen in conversation on the left are grouped together, so peculiarly isolated appear their eight colleagues on the right hand side. In the latter can be recognized the separate execution in the workshop. Hals probably would have created a different set-up in this part, making use of lighting and compositional devices such as sashes and hand gestures. The six figures on the right, finally, are not fully convincing in their bodily proportions and positioning of the feet.Time and again, the present painting has inspired reflections on the difference in style between the two contemporaneous painters. The different manners of execution of the faces, hands and costumes are obvious despite Codde's attempts in approximating Hals’ examples. Yet, both painters come very close to each other in their rendering of arms, and one can particularly appreciate Hals's gift of observation and attentiveness in this special field. As the detail-illustrations reveal Codde was also sensitive to the observation of lighting and reflection. His renderings of several rapiers, a halberd and a partisan show the evenly distributed gradations of brightness in the highlighted edges and reflection points [28][29]. In contrast, Hals rather captured the dynamic change of brightness on the respective materials, particularly brilliantly in the weapons in Gathering of the officers and sergeants of the Calivermen civic guard of 1632-1633 (A2.10) [30][31]. If one wonders whether he has not called in a specialist here, a look at the weapons and seat cushions, which are already unsurpassed in their characterisation in the early Banquet of the officers of the St George civic guard of 1616 (A2.0), will prove instructively....

... For example, sergeant Hendrick Hendricksz. Coning (9), who was originally depicted as a sergeant with the insignia of his rank, a halberd. This is clearly visible in the x-ray that shows the underlying paint layers. Meanwhile, he is now depicted holding a partisan, the attribute of an officer. In fact, Coning was to become a lieutenant with the militia of the Calivermen civic guard in 1639. It is evident that the painting had to pay tribute to this change in status. The visual prominence given to Michiel de Wael (2) is also striking: he stands in the front row, his tan costume contrasting with the black clothing of the men surrounding him. In 1636, De Wael had been promoted by the captain to the new position of treasurer, as indicated by the short commander’s staff that he holds.28 In x-ray, his originally round pleated collar is visible, which was altered into a more fashionable flat lace collar in the final painting.Several sitters in the present picture also appear in other paintings by Hals, which offers opportunities for comparison the artist’s approach to their portraits. This applies to captain Van Loo (1) (A2.10), fiscal De Wael (2) (A1.22, A1.30), lieutenant and painter colleague Pot (6) (A2.10), lieutenant Wouters (7) (A1.102, A3.50), ensign Dicx (10) (A1.30) and lieutenant Coning (8) (A3.15). In addition, we encounter Michiel de Wael a few years later in the 1642 group portrait of the Calivermen civic guard painted by Pieter Soutman.29...

... nt – are the distinctive emphases and corrections that reveal the optical qualities of highlights and shadows, and at the same time, the brushwork of Frans Hals. These can be found in the mouth lines, nose shadows and eye contours and – as in Hals’ self-portrait – in the diagonal streaks of highlights running against the strokes in the mustache and goatee. Such loose reworking is also visible in many hair sections, for instance in the hair of De Wael (2) [37].A similar sequence of approach can already be observed in the meeting of the officers and sergeants of the Calivermen civic guard, of 1632-1633 (A2.10). But unlike there, Hals has largely retreated from the intensive involvement with details in the present painting. One-and-a-half collar sections (no. 10, 12), two-and-a-half sword handles (no. 5, 12), one sash (no. 12); yet no hand, no glove, no cuff, no halberd, no partisan can be identified as his individual bravura contribution.32 Overall, the painting stands out in its muted tonality and even distribution of color accents, opposed to the agitated composition and spatial grouping of the more colorful representation of the abovementioned Calivermen civic guard. Whoever has assisted Hals in both cases cannot be guessed. In contrast to the commission of 1632-1633, Hals’s sons Frans (II) (1618-1669) and Jan (c. 1620-c. 1654) were active in the workshop as fully trained assistants by 1639.In comparison to the other group portraits, the appearance of the present picture is somewhat impaired by the cracks in the impasto paint layer....

A1.101 - A1.110

... and (A1.88). Even though the cataloguing of both pictures mentioned a panel support, the posture, visible area and tonality do not match: the man is sitting at a lower level and further back than the woman. A portrait of Johan de Wael painted by Johannes Cornelisz. Verspronck (c. 1600/1603-1662) appeared at auction in the United States in 2013, and offers a detailed comparison [1]. Clearly, there is a notable difference in the facial features when compared to the present work by Hals, especially in the shape of the nose and the eyebrows.2...

... s were most likely not as sharp as they are now, even in the shaded area of the faces. Also, the dark areas in the regents’ clothing were not only the black surfaces that they are now. Rather, they were presented three-dimensionally in nuances of grey, as can be concluded after comparison with two drawn copies by Wybrand Hendriks (1744-1831) (D30, D31).The relatively large hands in all regents’ groups – most clearly visible in the present picture – are in keeping with a situation where the painter observes his sitters from a short distance and perceives objects nearer to him as enlarged. There are few indications of how exactly the scene was composed, whether the canvas was painted directly with the sitters in front, or whether there were smaller separate studies on canvas or paper that were then transferred in the correct size into the large composition. The size of the present canvas and the difficulty in obtaining sufficient lighting make a sweeping gaze from the sitter back to the canvas hard to imagine. This would suggest the use of individual preparatory studies which were then transferred into the final composition. Slive had already noted that the sitter on the far right, François Wouters, is also depicted in Hals’s guardsmen’s portrait of 1639 (A2.12).10 In the latter example, the transfer of features from individual studies is visible – an intermediate step which can be attributed to the hand of an assistant – through the pattern of lines and the consistently soft application of paint. When comparing Wouters’ facial features in the 1639 portrait with those in the present painting of 1641, we see that the latter is characterized by both loose and thin paint application, and an ease of brushwork [3][4]. The half-shades are thinly applied here and appear grey and black due to the loss of coverage in the lead white. Also, the craquelé is structured differently. This means that the entire passage was executed by Hals – perhaps directly from the sitter on both outer edges, the sitters in the center were probably based on separate studies....

... the same year on account of ‘fornication’.12 At the beginning of 2013 Floris Mulder, curator of the Museum van de Geest | Dolhuys in Haarlem, found a record in the Haarlem archives that a certain Barbara Claes had been imprisoned in the workhouse in 1646 because of ‘immoral behaviour’.13 This fact points to a public nuisance caused by the woman, who was referred to as ‘malle’ (crazy). As neither a day release nor a portrait session in the asylum are likely, the group of depictions of Malle Babbe was probably executed in Hals’s workshop prior to 1646.14The character of this kind of half-length depictions indicates that they were created for the free market and not as a commission. As there are several closely rela...

... of tedious sitting and the hope for a desired result in his portrait. The superficial friendliness is combined with composure, as expressed by the hands clasping the gloves. The identification of the sitter as ‘Mr Bodolphe’ is based on anecdotal evidence, according to Valentiner it referred to an earlier inscription on the reverse of the picture which is no longer verifiable.16...

... ful for her brilliant portrait. It may also have been true that the majority of the portrait’s viewers focused more on the overall representation in a dignified large format, than on the extremely strong character expressed in the facial features. Hals’s power of observation is incredibly accurate in this instance; the present picture could be read as that of a Malle Babbe (A1.103) of the upper class....

... sullenly. On the basis of recent archival research, Frans Grijzenhout and Oliver Mertens have discovered that the coat of arms to the right of the sitter's head can be assigned to the De Wolff famil...

... pond to that of the man by adding a strip of canvas. In addition, the posture of the two sitters does not match. In Spring 1945, a selection of artworks from the Stettin museum was moved away from the advancing front line to the West. These were temporarily stored in the Coburg Fortress where three pictures remained later on, including the Portrait of a woman. The Portrait of a man became part of the Pommern foundation that was first housed in Kiel castle and which forms part of the Pommersches Landesmuseum in Greifs...

... ered at auction in Arnhem in 1963 in an overpainted condition, where the previous owners acquired it. They had it cleaned in two separate treatments and presented it at the Frans Hals Museum in 1964. The museum director, Henricus Petrus Baard (1906-2000), identified it as a work by Frans Hals. In 1964-1965 and 1969 the picture was restored in the Haarlem Museum. In between, it was sold at auction in London in 1965 and purchased by the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth. In 2004 it returned to the art market....

A1.91 – A1.100

... uly 1638 and joined this powerful Haarlem family that had already provided Hals with several portrait commissions (A1.17, A1.18, A3.25). The wedding was most likely the occasion for the commission of the present pair of portraits, that were executed in the same year. Like other Olycan portraits, this one bears a brightly colored coat of arms in the upper left corner, that was added later. Perhaps the portraits with this mark once hung in the same room together, or formed an extensive gallery of family portraits.The sitter leans on his stick in a commanding manner and expresses his self-perception as an important decision-maker through his skeptic...

... ay be conventional in posture, but with her determined and open gaze and an uncomplicated amicable expression, Hals captured a settled personality, with a character that was probably more even-tempered and pleasant than her husband’s. She was the daughter of Pieter Jacobsz. Olycan (1572-1658) (A3.25, A3.32) and the sister of several of Hals’s sitters in single and group portraits....

... dressed in a cuirass with an orange sash that identifies him as a member of a civic guard company. However, he is not included in the 1639 group portrait of the Haarlem St George civic guard (A2.12). And since a group portrait of the Calivermen civic guard from the same period has never been realized, the present portrait cannot be considered to have been created as preparation for a Haarlem group portrait, as I had still assumed in 1989 – pointing out the similarity with Hals’s self-portraits.5 Therefore, it could only have been a separate commission for private use, like the portraits of the Nachtglas brothers (A1.59, A1.60, A1.61).Dudok van Heel recently suggested an iden...

... of a woman in the National Gallery (A1.98), and appear arbitrarily cut off by the frame. The pronounced craquelure somewhat reduces the fresh impression of the painting. As noted by Slive, all four edges were probably cut down.8 The picture has not ...

... n the visible traces of folding edges, the visible surface was at some time even reduced to 59.5 x 44 cm. The character study of a suspicious-looking middle-aged ...

... ed than its pendant, and shows a subtly graduating modelling in both hands and the fine-featured face. The clarity of the features, especially of the eyes and mouth, constitutes an impor...

A1.45 - A1.58

... nsual and transient nature of man in contemporary understanding.6 These connotations were an indispensable complement to a particular type of person or a conspicuous form of action; they added deeper meaning to the vibrancy of a captured moment in life and turned the painting into an object of learning and knowledge. Nature's elements could be experienced in the distinctive liquid of wine as well as in the blaze of light that temporarily illuminates the vital...

... Hals, probably in 1631 or 1632 when Van Dyck visited The Hague. According to Houbraken's report of 1718, Hals was in a tavern when the other painter arrived.14 There, Van Dyck could have seen the Peeckelhaering painting, which inspired him to create his portrait of the art dealer François Langlois (1588-1647), painted during the same period [4].15 Karolien de Clippel was the first to notice the fascinating dependence of Van Dyck's unusual portrait on Hals's Peeckelhaering.16 Even the unusual spelled-out signature on Hals’ painting could find an explanation in the public exhibition: ‘then every literate person who came into the inn would know who had painted the picture’.17 Whether Peeckelhaering actually hung in the tavern and remained there for thirty years and more, cannot be verified. It reappeared first as no. 363 in the 1749 inventory of the Kurhessische Gemäldegalerie in Kassel.18...

... haering, as the theatrical character in the painting is based on the same sitter, wearing the same outfit as in the painting in Kassel (A1.50).20The paint layers of the present picture have suffered from cleaning and an earlier relining. Unfortunately the edges were trimmed, especially along the lower edge, but also on the left, where the fingertip and hand contour are now cut off by the...

... ortrait of a woman in Washington (A1.57). A wan smile and a mischievous expression in the tired eyes indicate a friendly but acerbic character. The clarity of the accents of expression...

... publication about his adventures as a traveler to East India and West Africa.26 Van den Broecke was a successful merchant and commercial fleet commander, who was highly honored for his 17 years of service at the East India company in Persia, Arabia, India and Batavia (today's Jakarta). As a gift of appreciation, he had received a gold chain...

C11 - C20

... rds his fiery speech. The venerable man is passionate in finding words for Heaven’s approach and shies away from the paths of doom. It is to the credit of your efforts, pastor reverend, that we know: those who regard Christ as their wealth, elect fruitful labour!’1A disconcerting detail of t...

... , a brightly illuminated finger is pointing at a line of writing which is hard to decipher. It may well be the sitter’s motto. We know that Arnold Möller (1581-1655) was a writing master in Lübeck, where he had gained citizenship in 1606. He prepared copper plates for his writing templates and created elaborate etchings on large metal plates. The division of labour in the assignment of the present commission is remarkable: from a citizen of Lübeck to the Haarlem painter Frans Hals and then...

... and the quack doctor.9The verses under the engraving read as follows:‘I am a Fool but not for want of wit I play the fool that wee by Fools may get For whosoever does the Packets buy In troth I think they’re greater fool then I In parting with their Gold and Silver Coin To Cure your Poor Consumptive Purse and mine My Antick fool in my fantastick Dress With Grinning Looks thy wonted words Express And let thy Humours all be Acted well That so I may my worthy Packets Sell For tho I in a Velvet Coat Appear I am not worth one single Groat a Year’.This engraving is relevant for the history of the reception of Hals’s work; it proves that around 1670 two works by his hand had already come to Eng...

C21 - C30

... ing that was formerly in the Gould collection [1], and which can be considered to be an independent original by an assistant of Hals, instead of a cop...

... nvasses; Ampzing’s fame, known to all, cannot die. It lives on in the stricken face of the Ausonian bishop. Ah! How many scars will you read on the Spaniard’s brow! Why, devoted congregation, do you seek to have your Herald pictured on copper? The wounded faces of so many men will bear witness to him. The blow is fresh; the open scar has not yet healed; And, if the wounds do close, the toothmark will remain’.1After a lost modello by Frans Hals, on which ...

... nying poems of both prints are remarkable, as they emphasize the sitter as the shepherd of the Church of God on the one hand, and as a fighter against the pope and the Spaniards on the other. Van Thiel pointed out that this can be explained by taking a look at who commissioned the prints. The Reformed Congregation had ordered the print with Ampzing’s likeness from Jan van de Velde, whereas the city of Haarlem commissioned a version from Jonas Suyderhoef (1614-1686).3Liedtke concluded from the conciliatory wording on the present engraving that Suyderhoef’s representation must have been a much later version of the portrait, probably only made...

... l frame that surrounds the portrait, the text reads as follows:‘Here the van den Broecke, the astounder of the Persians, When the Batavian first came roaring across the Red Sea, Who, on the continents of Arabia and Indus, First fostered trade for the Dutch nation’.6...

... an den Broecke (1585-1640) in a slightly elongated format when compared to the painted portrait (A1.58) and the 1633 print by Adriaen Ma...

... sis for the engraving and other painted copies. Matham’s engraving demonstrates both his own accomplished lucidity of representation and Hals’s skill for vivid portraiture. There are two earlier engravings after portraits of Bor which allow for comparison, as well as an engraving in reverse that was created a generation later by Anthony van Zijlvelt (c. 1640-in/after 1695), which again reproduces the image from Matham’s engraving in a reduced size (C26a).10 The latter was probably created in connection with the publication in Amsterdam in 1679 of a new edition of Bor’s magnum opus, comprising nine volumes. It is not clear why the image was reversed once more, after it had so convincingly captured the painted model with its natural light from the left....

... ewhat whimsical motto ‘In Coelis Massa’ (Massa in Heaven) is inscribed. The verses under the picture read as follows:‘Pursued by hatred and envy, he obtained honour from the Tsar and the Swedish king.And sought their favour, while fulfilling the commissions entrus...

C51 - C64

... n the various versions of Hals’s self-portrait (B17). In the present representation, the face is moved somewhat towards the right, and the modelling of the shadows is slightly altered, as is the direction of the gaze. It is conceivable that an independent model existed for the engraver, or that he developed a fairly plausible variant on his own, on the basis...

... most identical dimensions, the presence of the same FH monogram, and the stylistic similarities. Moreover, three of these prints entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum in the same year, suggesting that they were sold as a series of three, without Boy with a bowl ...

... boy with a bowl and a spoon, there is room to believe that the boy is actually holding a friction drum, connecting it thus with the motif of the Rommel-pot player (A4.2.1a). When reversed and compared to the main figure from the surviving paintings, a number of similarities can be identified. The hat of the modello is turned into a beret that keeps a similar tail, even if probably made out of...