RKD STUDIES

The present catalogue lists all surviving paintings that can be attributed to Frans Hals, on the basis of current knowledge and documentation. The oeuvre presented here includes all artworks that were executed by the artist himself, as well as those that were created jointly with assistants in his workshop, and those that were executed in the workshop according to the master’s specifications. In addition, the catalogue lists copies, drawings and prints after lost originals by Hals and his workshop, and modern imitations. Such a comprehensive overview, which includes subdivisions into fully and partly autograph works as well as workshop paintings, has not been presented before. It takes a significant step forward from a purely ‘art’ historical compilation of attributed masterworks, towards a more historical recording of the production of paintings in the workshop of an influential master painter.

At the end of the catalogue, tables of concordance lists consistencies and differences in attribution in comparison with the immediately preceding catalogue raisonnés by Slive (1970-1974) and Montagni (1974). As the present author’s own catalogues of 1972 and 1989 only list paintings that were considered autograph at the time, their tables of concordance only refer to the pictures accepted as autograph in Slive’s 1974 catalogue, and to those where the author’s attribution differed from Slive’s.¹ Consequently, these do not include the entire body of work from the Hals workshop. This entire oeuvre is to be explored now, including the artworks that Slive and Montagni considered doubtful. In addition, there are paintings that have not yet been considered at all so far, taken from previous literature or as entirely new discoveries.

This complete catalogue raisonné reports of previous discussions on attributions as extensively as possible, summarizing them in each relevant entry with literature references. However, not every single detail is included. Earlier assessments will only be referenced when those still have relevance for today’s evaluation. Of course, they remain topical wherever today’s view differs from that of the past. Furthermore, earlier assessments and discussions can be followed through the bibliographical references for the individual objects as listed in the RKD images records. Generally, Slive’s catalogue volume presents the state of attributions before 1970, including a table of concordance of all earlier catalogue raisonnés.² His catalogue lists detailed information about the provenance of the paintings and about the state of research up to 1970, and provides ample bibliographical references. Together with the 1989-1990 exhibition catalogue, it provides a broad foundation for research into Frans Hals.³ Nevertheless, Slive’s comprehensive publication excludes a number of pictures, even those that had previously been published and put on display as works by Frans Hals in museums and exhibitions. In addition, research has moved on significantly since 1970, be it through the examination and restoration of many individual works, or through discussions about identifying sitters and about dating, or through interim publications about Hals, Dutch painting or 17th-century cultural and social history in general. A substantial change is the assumption also adopted in this book: that 17th-century paintings in Holland and elsewhere should no longer be seen as expressions of the activity by a single ‘genius’, but rather as products of workshop activity. Guided by a talented master, extraordinary levels of quality could be achieved. Similar to the practice adopted in many artisanal trades today, the eponymous master was responsible for the execution, but he did not always do the work himself and he did not work alone. Even when signed by the master, not all of these paintings were entirely created by his own hand. Many other artworks show his involvement to a varying degree. Yet, we need to distinguish the respective master’s specific contribution, precisely because we are interested in the mastery of the individual painter as opposed to the overall achievement of the workshop. Accordingly, we need to gain an understanding of both the workshop production and the particular, individual achievement of the master within its context.

To make the different arguments about attribution and dating visually transparent and comprehensible for the reader, images will be presented to the greatest possible extent, especially including detail-photographs. Last not least, by outlining Hals’s individual achievements and that of his assistants, we would like to sharpen the reader’s focus on the high quality of paintings created in Haarlem, and on the outstanding position of Frans Hals, whose style of creation reached far beyond his own period. The efforts made in compiling every available piece of background information should not disguise the fact that our ultimate objective is the elucidation of a specific achievement in expression, which corresponds to an ‘aesthetic’ quality discernible today. This quality forms the basis for the appeal of Frans Hals’s painting. Stylistic criticism based on historical knowledge is therefore indispensable. The present book is intended as a contribution to this approach.