A4.2.44 - A4.2.58
A4.2.44 Workshop or circle of Frans Hals, Profile of a boy, c. 1638-1640
Oil on panel, 41.5 x 34.5 cm, monogrammed lower right: FH
Whereabouts unknown
As in the previous painting, the face of this child also seems to have been sketched rather two-dimensionally. The hair is not modelled in accordance with the direction of the lighting, but simply captured cursorily and mixed with some brighter strands. Nevertheless, the head is clearly emphasized, and the beret provides an attractive background. The profile of the boy is vaguely reminiscent of that of the boy in Two fisherboys (A3.30) and young boy in profile (A3.31).
A4.2.44
A4.2.44a Workshop or circle of Frans Hals, Profile of a boy
Oil on panel 43 x 34.2 cm
Sale Amsterdam (Christie’s), 9 May 2007, lot 4
Even though the panel is of a similar size, as the previous painting it copies, the scale of the figure has been adjusted within the composition. With its more expansive background and the free contours of the beret, the present picture may refer back to the original composition of the abovementioned painting (A4.2.44), or to a common model that served as the basis for both artworks. The present painting could have been created in Hals’s workshop, or perhaps much later.
A4.2.44a
Photo © Christie's Images/Bridgeman Images
A4.2.45 Workshop or circle of Frans Hals, Profile of a girl to the right, c. 1640-1650
Oil on panel, 26 x 20.3 cm, monogrammed lower right: FH
Indianapolis, private collection
Because of the technique and signature, this painting needs to be taken into account within the context of Frans Hals’s oeuvre. It cannot be excluded that the signature is authentic. However, the rigid posture and facial expression, as well as the hesitant modelling of the facial features, the hair and the shirt, which is not clearly delineated from the neck down, are not characteristic for Hals and would not have met his artistic standards, even at the time.
A4.2.45
A4.2.46 Workshop of Frans Hals, Fisherman with a fur cap and a basket, c. 1640-1650
Oil on canvas, 83.8 x 63.5 cm
Gorhambury, private collection
Several versions of this composition have been preserved, with varying content of the basket, such as a cat or freshly caught prawns (A4.2.46a, A4.2.46b). The present painting was executed in a coarse routine with wide brushstrokes. I am not sure if there was a more subtly painted template, as Slive suggests.1 As in other cases, a workshop product such as the present picture may have been executed multiple times.
A4.2.46
© Royal Academy of Arts, London
A4.2.46a Follower of Frans Hals, Fisherman with a basket of prawns
Oil on canvas, 77 x 65 cm
Sale Brussels (Palais des Beaux-Arts), 14 December 1953, lot 29
A4.2.46a
A4.2.46b Follower of Frans Hals, Fisherman with a basket with a cat
Oil on canvas, 75 x 61 cm
Washington, private collection
A4.2.46b
A4.2.47a Workshop of Frans Hals, possibly Frans Hals (II), Young man holding a lily, 1640
Oil on canvas, 85 x 70 cm, monogrammed and dated right of center: F.H. / 1640
Paris, Musée du Louvre, inv.no. RF 2130
Similar to other half-length figures by Hals and his workshop, the subject of the present painting ca be read as a juxtaposition of youth and sensual pleasure with the experience of age and the transitoriness of life. The latter are indicated by the head of the old man on the painting in the background, and the flower in the sitter’s hand.
This painting is one of five known versions of similar size. In all but one, the young man is holding a flower. The present Louvre version is the only one with a partly executed painting on an easel to the right of the figure, while another variant (A4.2.47b) only faintly shows the outlines of a sketch on a panel. The composition is nearly identical to that in the Self-portrait by Judith Leyster (1609-1660) of c. 1630 [1]. However, where the picture within the Leyster self-portrait shows a standing man playing a violin, the picture in the present painting shows an old man with a lute. This detail is taken from one of the version of the Merry Trio (B2a, B2b). The use of adopted motifs comes full circle when we look at the figure of a young man in one of the variants of the said Merry Trio [2], which also appears in Judith Leyster’s Merry company of c. 1629 [3].2
The face of the protagonist is neither an original invention, nor painted after a random model. It clearly shows the same features as Hals’s Merry lute player (A1.26) and his Young man with a skull (A1.29), both dated around 1626. Individual elements, such as the treatment of the hair and the very similar modelling of the light in the face, also match those with the Merry lute player. Nevertheless, the handling in the present painting differs from Hals's soft application of paint of the 1620s, in its cooler tonality, more planar character and unblended brushwork. It displays brushstrokes that do not connect with the three-dimensional surface of the figure as naturally as in the earlier picture and other autograph works by Hals. Even less convincing is the foreshortening of the arm reaching towards the viewer. Here, we have a similarly flat hand as in the Portrait of a young actor (A4.2.52). The manner of execution in the Louvre painting, which emphasizes contours, largely matches with the main group of workshop pictures that can be attributed to Frans Hals the Younger (1618-1669). Even if the signature is in an unusual location, the date of 1640 is consistent with the tonality and style of Hals’s works from this period. The modelling of the face and the expansive composition would imply that a preparatory study or a ricordo of the Merry lute player was preserved in Hals’s workshop and functioned as a source of inspiration.
A4.2.47a
© 2017 RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Tony Querrec
1
Judith Leyster
Self portrait of Judith Leyster (1609-1660), c. 1630
Washington (D.C.), National Gallery of Art (Washington), inv./cat.nr. 1949.6.1
2
after Frans Hals (I)
Merry trio, after 1616
canvas, oil paint, 78.5 x 60 cm
upper right: FH:1616
sale Amsterdam (Sotheby Mak van Waay), 23-25 April 1973, lot 76
cat.no. B2b
3
Judith Leyster
Merry company, c. 1629
Switzerland, Belgium, private collection Eric and Marie-Louise Albada Jelgersma
© Christie’s Images Limited [2018]
A4.2.47b Workshop of Frans Hals, Portrait of a young painter in front of an easel, c. 1640 or later
Oil on canvas, 61.6 x 50.8 cm
Sale New York (Christie's), 17 October 2006, lot 289
In the present painting, the composition has been narrowed slightly, compared to the other versions. Outlines in white paint appear as a sketch for a picture on a panel placed on the easel which is cut off on the right.
A4.2.47b
© 2006 Christie’s Images Limited
A4.2.47c Workshop of Frans Hals, Portrait of a young man holding a lily, c. 1640 or later
Oil on canvas 76.5 x 65 cm
Miami Beach, Bass Museum of Art
A glass appears to be visible between the two hands, containing a probably colorful object which is hard to read. The fabric of the sleeve and the chest area are patterned in this version.
A4.2.47c
A4.2.47d Workshop of Frans Hals, Portrait of a young man holding a carnation, c. 1640 or later
Oil on canvas 78.4 x 62.2 cm
Sale London (Sotheby's), 9 December 2021, lot 146
In this version, the modelling accents have been simplified and concentrated on the main contours. The sitter holds a carnation in his right hand.
A4.2.47d
© Sotheby's 2023
A4.2.47e Workshop of Frans Hals, Portrait of a young man holding a lily, c. 1640 or later
Oil on canvas, 74 x 62 cm
Sale London (Sotheby’s), 4 November 1970, lot 87 (as attributed to Jan Miense Molenaer)3
A4.2.48 Workshop of Frans Hals, possibly Jan Hals, Singing youth and boy, c. 1640
Oil on panel, 30.5 x 24.0 cm
Sale London (Christie's), 22 July 1938, lot 66
Slive presumed this painting to be a modern imitation.4 Yet, judging from photographs, I would rather consider it to be a workshop picture. The execution rather matches the brisk, but slightly clumsy, style of painting that can be observed in some works by Hals’s assistants.
A4.2.48
A4.2.49 Workshop of Frans Hals, possibly Jan Hals, Singing boy, c. 1640
Oil on panel, 26.5 x 20.5 cm, monogrammed center right: FH
Sale London (Sotheby’s), 17 May 1989, lot 50
Just as the preceding painting, Slive considers this picture to be a modern imitation.5 The two-dimensionality and awkward brushwork are certainly worlds apart from Hals’s dashing modelling, but the representation does not aim at the motifs and effects that were typically most admired in Hals in the 19th and 20th centuries.
A4.2.49
A4.2.50 Workshop of Frans Hals, possibly Jan Hals, Singing youth with a boy at his right, c. 1640-1645
Oil on canvas, 60.3 x 50.8 cm
Cincinnati, Taft Museum of Art, inv.no. 1962.6
The manner of execution in this painting appears more drawn than painted. The figures are represented with disproportional anatomy and a flat and angular appearance. All these elements are related to the genre paintings by Jan Hals (c. 1620-c. 1654).
A4.2.50
Courtesy of the Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio, Tony Walsh Photography
A4.2.51 Workshop of Frans Hals, Young violinist, c. 1645-1648
Oil on canvas, 93 x 93 cm, monogrammed center right FH
Private collection
Similar to Young man playing the flute (A3.49), this painting was originally diamond-shaped. At an unknown date, probably in the 18th, but at the latest in the early 19th century, the canvas was reshaped to form a square. Martin Bijl’s restoration of 2010 reversed these changes and the removal of overpainting further revealed the original composition. The tilt of the head, the hairstyle, the shoulder and the collar areas turned out to have been inspired by an engraving by Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533) [4]. The adoption of a historical template is unique in Hals’s oeuvre. Van Leyden’s feathered hat was replaced in the present picture by a 15th century turban-style headdress.
The monogram on the right is old, but possibly not the original one, which could have been added further to the side. During the format change it may have been moved toward the center of the picture. It has a striking shape, which, interestingly enough, is identical to the monogram in the abovementioned Young man playing the flute.
A4.2.51
4
Lucas van Leyden
Young man with a skull, c. 1517-1521
Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, inv./cat.nr. RP-P-OB-1773
A4.2.52 Workshop of Frans Hals, Portrait of a young actor, c. 1645-1648
Oil on canvas, 76.2 x 63.5 cm, monogrammed lower right: FH
Detroit, private collection
This young actor’s clothing, with his feathered beret and cloak, and the gesture of the forward-reaching hand refer to Young man with a skull (A1.29), which Hals had created as a dramatic capturing of a fleeting moment while he engaged with the concept of half-length figures of the Utrecht Caravaggisti. The present figure was probably conceived in a similarly declamatory pose. The young man’s gesture and the silent turn of the gaze signal the beginning of a momentous performance, but the impulsivity that Hals conveyed through the connection between the movement of the body and the facial expression, is lacking here. The hesitant and dashed contours of the face and hands, and the angular highlights in the fabric folds at the shoulder and on the sleeve create neither a clear spatial effect, nor do they give an impression of capturing a moment in time. It would be interesting to know how much the master Hals was involved in this assistant’s work.
A4.2.52
A4.2.53 Workshop of Frans Hals, possibly Frans Hals (II), Man holding a pipe, c. 1640-1650
Oil on canvas, 60.2 x 50.6 cm, signed lower left: f. hals
Sale London (Sotheby’s Olympia), 9 December 2003, lot 334
This dark painting refers back to the depictions of fisherfolk. When it was auctioned in 2003 it was catalogued as ‘Follower of Frans Hals, 18th century’, yet I know of no comparable works from the 18th century. Such a coarse painting of an everyday character only appears again in the late 19th century, but by then it is in an artificial and sentimental way. In my view, the present painting is a product from Hals’s workshop, where portrait-like representations of rough folk-types were created in parallel to the peasant and tavern subjects from other workshops. Petrus Staverenus (c. 1610-after 1654), Jan Miense Molenaer (c. 1610-1668) and Harmen Hals (1611-1669) painted similar motifs, possibly inspired by Hals’s work.
A4.2.53
A4.2.54 Workshop of Frans Hals, possibly Frans Hals (II), Laughing man holding a mug, raising his hat, c. 1640-1650
Oil on canvas, 71.5 x 63 cm
Private collection
The subject of this painting is probably a greeting someone or offering them a welcome drink. Only such a situation would explain why the man has removed his hat and raised his jug at this particular moment. One could also interpret the scene as an emphasis on the senses: touch, sight, taste. The only comparable gesture in an autograph work by Hals can be found in the Schwerin Laughing boy with a wine glass (A1.35). The latter’s virtuoso modelling contrasts with the two-dimensional representation in the present picture. The strong contour lines and brushstrokes display a routinely manner of depiction which was probably used in this way to quickly finish a painting. Stylistically, there is a similarity to the Portrait of an unknown man, dated 1650, which is also rendered with these typical long brushstrokes (A4.3.32).
A4.2.54
A4.2.55 Workshop of Frans Hals, possibly Judith Leyster, Boy reading a book, c. 1640-1645
Oil on canvas, 75.7 x 62.8 cm, monogrammed lower right: FH
Winterthur, Sammlung Oskar Reinhart ‘Am Römerholz’, inv.no. 1933.2
The angular style of painting and the uniformly broad brushstrokes in this painting are reminiscent of the handling in some representations of fisherchildren. The increasingly planar representation and the cool overall tonality support a date of execution at the beginning of the 1640s. The beret with a feather and the cuffs on the boy’s sleeve characterize him as an actor. The somewhat flickering brushstroke could suggest a work by Judith Leyster (1609-1660), as Hofrichter proposed.6 However, in that case, the use of the monogram, would require an explanation.
A4.2.55
A4.2.56 Workshop of Frans Hals, Man with a herring barrel, c. 1640-1650
Oil on panel, 68.7 x 50.3 cm
Augsburg, Städtische Kunstsammlungen, inv.no. 12584
The subject of this painting is a merry old man clutching a barrel of herring or beer. The scene could have been intended as a representation of the sense of taste, as part of a series of the five senses. The composition and coarse painterly style, which dissolves into a few short brushstrokes, are reminiscent of the paintings of the fisherchildren, but less three-dimensional. The handling can also be related to Profile of a laughing boy (A4.2.43) and Profile of a boy ( A4.2.44).
A4.2.56
© Kunstsammlungen und Museen Augsburg / photo: Andreas Brücklmair
A4.2.57 Workshop of Frans Hals, Man with a large hat, c. 1640-1650
Oil on canvas, 62.2 x 48.2 cm, monogrammed lower right: FH
Williamstown, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, inv.no. 1955.28
I concur with Slive and consider this picture to be the work of a follower of Hals who worked in the tradition of the latter’s half-length figure paintings and head studies, yet most likely within Hals’s workshop.7
A4.2.57
Image courtesy Clark Art Institute. clarkart.edu
A4.2.57a Follower of Frans Hals, Man with a large hat
Oil on panel, 63.1 x 48.5 cm
United Kingdom, private collection
A4.2.57a
A4.2.58a Workshop or follower of Frans Hals, Laughing boy with a violin, c. 1640-1650
Oil on canvas, 50.5 x 45 cm
France, private collection
This painting, or its model, is reproduced in a 1732 mezzotint by George White (1684-1732), combined with moralizing verses [5]. The manner of execution resembles that of other works by followers of Frans Hals, such as Laughing fisherboy with a basket (A4.2.29). It is largely, though not completely, identical with the representation in White’s print and in the painted variant listed below. It thus seems likely that a painted modello for this motif existed in the Hals workshop. At the same time, however, the pinched smile and awkward pose of the boy are as far removed from Hals as is the angular rendering of the facial shadows, fingers and cuff.
A4.2.58a
5
George White (1684-1732)
Laughing boy with a violin, dated 1732
London (England), British Museum, inv./cat.nr. 1874,0808.1339
cat.no. C38
© The Trustees of the British Museum
A4.2.58b Follower of Frans Hals, Laughing boy with a violin
Oil on canvas, 65.5 x 55 cm
Sale Cologne (Van Ham), 15 November 2018, lot 1128a
In variant, the accurate rendering of the figure appears to have been created with an entirely different painterly technique and handling.
A4.2.58b