The Dutch portraitist Frans Hals was famous for his lifelike paintings where the visible brushstrokes created an illusion of presence. A comprehensive exhibition of his work started its travel from London, is at Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam this spring, and will move to Berlin for summer and autumn.
Hals did a lot of contract work for upstanding Dutch merchants and dignitaries, portraits where the wealth, piety and social status are evident (above left). Some wished to be portrayed in a different manner, like this youth dressed to the nines with the latest French fashions of 1645 (above right).
A Dutch speciality were the group portraits of civic guard members, usually depicted at the banquet when their contract ended (above left) – although the most famous of these groups is Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ that shows the guard doing its duty.
However, the guard members were busy people and at times it was difficult to get them to pose – once Hals demanded that an Amsterdam guard should come to his studio in Haarlem to finish their portrait (detail of Hals’s work above left). The guard refused and let another artist finish the painting in Amsterdam.
Another type of portrait was much more informal – these were mostly painted for the general market, not based on a commission. Here, the sitters are relaxed (above), enjoying their drink and often laughing. In serious bourgeois circles laughing was much frowned upon – in the formal portraits nobody ever laughed.
Hals lived to the ripe old age of 82 and continued to paint up to the end.
Rails, wines, worlds 