Frans Hals

Portrait of a Man

Frans Hals
Portrait of a Man

On view in Room 10

In the first half of the seventeenth century, Frans Hals was the leading portrait painter in Haarlem. He worked on till a ripe old age, probably due to financial problems. This impressive portrait, for example, was painted when he was about eighty.

By that point, Hals was working more freely than ever before, and he portrayed the man with broad, rapid brushstrokes. The glimmers of light in the dark eyes and the mobile lips lend personality and liveliness to the portrait.

Technical details

More about Frans Hals

Frans Hals is one of the most famous and most extraordinary Dutch painters of the 17th century. He painted lively, sometimes even cheerful, portraits of people from all levels of society: important people, naughty children and even drunks or people who had been declared crazy. Hals had a unique ability to bring his paintings to life with colour and broad brushstrokes. His skilful style inspired the French impressionists, who made many copies of his paintings in the 19th century.

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Frans Hals
Portrait of a Man

On view in Room 10

Acquired with the support of the Friends of the Mauritshuis Foundation and the bequest of Jonkheer J. Loudon, 1957
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Details

General information
Artist Frans Hals (Antwerp 1582/1583 - 1666 Haarlem)
Title Portrait of a Man
Object name painting
Inventory number 928
On view in Room 10
Material and technical details
Technique oil
Material panel
Dimensions 31.1 x 25.5 cm

Provenance

Richard Foster, Clewer Manor, London, 1876-1882; Wilhelm Gumprecht, Berlin, 1882-1918; Paul Herman Heilbuth, Copenhagen, 1918-1922/23; William H. Bixby, St Louis, Missouri, 1922/23-1956; Hans Schaeffer Gallery, New York; purchased with the support of the Friends of the Mauritshuis Foundation and the bequest of Jonkheer J. Loudon, 1957