6 Notes to the catalogue
The technical details are listed in the following order:
catalogue number,
descriptive title,
year of execution – when where an artwork is not dated, a date is suggested on the basis of historical and stylistic criteria,
support and materials,
size in centimetres (paintings)/millimeters (drawings and prints), height before width,
signatures, dates, inscriptions,
current location,
inventory number
The works presently included were mostly seen by the author in the original, with very few exceptions. Measurements and other details are taken from museum catalogues and other, most recent, publications. The current location is listed, previous provenance information can be accessed through the RKD images database. Restoration reports and technical inspections were only included in cases where the results affect the attribution or the interpretation of the subject matter.
Lost works that are only referred to in archival documentation have not been included. The relevant references are accessible in the compilation of written and printed sources that Irene Thiel-Stroman published in the catalogue of the 1989-1990 Hals exhibition.1 Paintings by Hals that were listed in later documents, including inventories and auction catalogues, are listed in Hofstede de Groot’s catalogue raisonné.2 Discussions about the possible identification of surviving portraits with these listings are referenced in detail and with additional literature in the catalogue section of Slive’s catalogue raisonné.3
There remains a degree of uncertainty. In many cases it is not possible to come to a conclusion about what was produced within the workshop of Frans Hals and under his name, and which works may have been created by artists outside the location or the timeframe of the common workshop. For example, there are numerous variants and imitations of the genre paintings that are similar, but coarser. These may have been created at the same time as the prototype, but at this point there is no indication as to where and by whom. These cases have not all been illustrated, rather, they are listed as variants for the prototype. Panel identification and dendrochronology, as well as the study of canvas, undercoating and pigments can provide further clarification in these cases.
The references to literature are not included with the catalogue entries, but are listed in the RKD images records. These include mostly references to the comprehensive publications since Hals was discovered in the 19th century, as well as a selection of the most important individual publications since the great Hals exhibition in 1937. The commentary on individual catalogue numbers is restricted to current information about the subject matter, traditional references and the current research situation. Matters of conservation and restoration have been included only if they significantly affect today’s appearance. As Hals’s distinctive style and particularly clear individual development are outstanding marks of his oeuvre, relevant information has been included in the commentary. Similarly, references to the much-discussed separation of autograph and workshop areas are added.