Favorite Artists 11 - Franz Hals

Favorite artists of mine come from all eras of art, but the Golden Age of Dutch art is probably my favorite, given the mastery of the men and women who made the works. The genre painters were wonderful, and so were the painters who pursued more sophisticated kinds of work. One of those was

"The Gypsy Girl," 1629

Franz Hals (1582-1666). Encountering the works of Hals, my initial reaction was different than if was for Rembrandt--I liked Hals from the first. Hals is a painter more devoted to bright, natural light than Rembrandt, so that his works aren't so dark and brown. Furthermore, Hals painted pictures that you connect with. You feel you know these people, or someone like them. While Hals' work doesn't show the insight into personality and psychology of Rembrandt, he gave us images that have lasted over the centuries.

Franz Hals was born in Antwerp but his parents fled to Haarlem when he was only two. He lived there the rest of his life, even after becoming an enormously successful portrait painter. For that is what Hals was throughout his career, a painter of people. He began selling paintings in 1610 or 1611, and became almost immediately successful, so much so that sitters had to come to Haarlem to be painted; he refused to travel. Eventually he went out of fashion and even became relatively obscure until the middle of the 19th century. He died destitute but had been voted a small pension. Once rediscovered, Hals' work has influenced many painters in the succeeding decades.

"Portrait of a Man," 1660

For me there are several aspects of Hals' work that are most attractive. First and foremost is his masterful brushwork, which seems casual and almost effortless, as if tossed off without a single thought. In reality, though, it is hard work to make a thing look so easy, and it is clear that he worked hard to master his craft.

An example of great brushwork is in "Portrait of a Man" from 1660, now in the Frick Museum in New York. A close examination of the brushwork describing the fabrics show bold strokes of paint, thickly and confidently applied. It is as if Hals is showing the world just how completely he has mastered the craft of painting. This painting was doubtless made as a commissioned work, but somehow over the years the name of the sitter has been lost. Nonetheless, it's clear he was well to do, perhaps even quite wealthy, which was Hals' clientele.

My favorite of all Hals' works are his tronies. A tronie was a painting--a portrait--during the Dutch Golden Age that was intended as a representation of a sort of person--drinkers, tavern denizens, celebrants, and the like. One the most well-known by Hals is "The Gypsy Girl," (above), although whether he gave her that name is unknown. She is presumably a tavern woman, happy and seemingly carefree, possibly with drink, so that she displays ample cleavage, a very immodest thing at the time. She grins coquettishly, her cheeks glow, and her sidelong look is irresistibly sexy. It is one of my favorite paintings.

"Verdonck," 1628

Hals painted quite a few portraits and tronies that carry more than a hint of humor. One of his more amusing portraits is titled "Verdonck," a portrait of a well-known and reputedly very argumentative member of a local religion in Haarlem (right). Known as a difficult person to get along with, he is shown brandishing the jawbone of an ass. It seems doubtful that Hals did this one as a commission, so it almost qualifies as a tronie.

"Peeckelhaerigh," 1629

 Another favorite of mine by Hals is "Peeckehaeringh," a tronie of a drunk in a tavern, showing us his empty tankard. The title is an old Dutch term for pickled herring, or in other words, a drunken man. This seems to be an image of a comic actor but could as easily be a tavern layabout. The painting is famous too for having belonged to another prominent Dutch master, Jan Steen, and appeared in the background of some of Steen's own works. Like other works, the masterful brushwork, innate humor, and excellent draftsmanship are all on view and have made this one of Hals' most famous paintings.

In sum, Franz Hals painted solely portraits, whereas other contemporaries of his did those, genre scenes, landscape and other kinds of works. Hals used much lighter scenes than some others--notably Rembrandt--and a brighter palette. And his mood throughout much of his work was upbeat, besides. But for me it will always be instructive to study how Hals trained himself to make such suave, confident, and descriptive brush strokes. I intend to study him even more.




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Favorite Artists
Favorite Artists 2--Chardin
Favorite Artists 3--Grant Wood
Favorite Artists 4--Diego Velazquez
Favorite Artists 5--Andrew Wyeth
Favorite Artists 6--Wayne Thiebaud 
Favorite Artists 7 - Edward Hopper
Favorite Artists 8- Nicolai Fechin
Favorite Artists 9- Rembrandt 
Favorite Artists 10-Hokusai