Frans Hals,

1580-1666, Baroque period

Some might have perceived Frans Hals as a rebel, he was a Dutch painter, a master of portraiture of the Dutch bourgeoisie of Haarlem, and he also was the frontrunner of group portrait artists. Not too much is known about his early years, other than that he was born in Antwerp, had a younger brother, Dirck, who also became a painter, and that his family moved to Haarlem when Spain overtook Antwerp in the Eighty Years’ War around 1585. His father was a clothmaker. Haarlem, in the Protestant Northern region of Holland, is where he remained until his death.

We do know that he was married twice and had two children with his first wife, Annetje Hermansz who died in 1616 and eight children with his second wife, Lysbeth Reyniers. In 1616, with the life-sized group portrait “The Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Militia Company” he achieved recognition and his ‘breakthrough’ in the artistic world. He was often thought of as showing bravado, it is said that Hals paints what he first sees, and his paintings often show this wilder persona. Hals was one who enjoyed life fully; he had a fondness for drinking and revelry, and greatly mismanaged his income. This was also the year, 1616 that records showed he began to be hounded by creditors.

Resource information agrees that he probably was a pupil of the Flemish painter, Karel van Madder.  However, there is little evidence of van Madder’s influence in Hals work. Many feel that the work of Frans Hals was second only to Rembrandt, his younger contemporary.   When first coming on the scene, Rembrandt most likely did look to the older Hals especially with his handling of group portraits.  Where in the past, group portraits were somewhat stiff, poised, and unnatural; Hals created action and interaction between his characters.  The look of naturalness is seen in Hals work, as is the sense of his subjects being captured in momentary, but characteristic pose and expression.   There is a certain sense of joy, fun, laughter, and vitality conveyed in Hals portraits; we recognize that the artist knew his subject thoroughly and intimately.
 
Hals was very successful during his career, but his ‘free-spirit’, reckless spending, and large family lead to serious financial problems and sadly, he did die in bankruptcy. Hals was never appreciated during his lifetime, and in total only about 250 of his paintings have survived. It is thought that his style of loose brushwork did have some influence on a few of the Impressionistic painters like Manet who was also known for his style of brushwork.

References:
Frans Hals - Masterpieces in Colours

The Story of Painting - By Sister Wendy Becket

A Biographical Dictionary of Artists - Sir Lawrence Gowing - ISBN - 1861990731

The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals - Michael Kernan

The Age of Rembrandt - Exerbition catalog under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands and Mrs Lyndon B. Johnson.

Frans Hals – His Art

Without a doubt, Hals was a very skilled technician, his studies were expertly composed; his line of design and color were extremely well balanced.  The loose, quick brush strokes seen in his work are definitely a technique that he perfected, being recognized as the first of ‘painterly’ painters; his technique was at times close to Impressionism in its looseness.  Rembrandt’s later painterly style has been thought by some to have been influenced by Frans Hals.

At the time portrait painting were serious undertakings, with the sitter often showing little emotion. Hals changed this, by painting his figures with expressive faces that showed a great deal of emotion. He was commissioned to paint group portraits for the 'Civic Guards', and Hals painted these groups of men with real character. Rather than stick with tradition, he broke the norm and painted each with individual postures, expressions and movements. This 'style' of portraiture spoke of the artist's individuality and his ability to be spontaneous and fresh with his approach.

Art historians believe Hals was more skilled at showing an animated character on the canvas, one who would engage the viewer more than his ability to create true likeness to the actual sitter he was painting.
We have no record of Frans Hals’ painting techniques; it appears evident that he began directly on canvas, unlike his contemporaries who made preliminary sketches and under paintings which were prevalent in the 17th century.  He perfected his technique, and art historians believe he was a pioneer of the ‘Alla prima’ technique of painting directly to the canvas.

Through out his lifetime, he painting with increasing freedom, his works often show spontaneous broad brushstrokes and in his later years, his style loosened further. However there were portraits that show the serious interpretation of his subjects, he was often commissioned to paint portraits of very wealthy families and socialites. Adrian Brouwer was the closet follower of Hals, utilizing his techniques to paint tavern scenes.  Hals was always recognized as a competent but somewhat limited painter. In the 19th century, however, his work garnered more interest and appreciation.

During the period between 1620 and 1630, Hals was so much in demand that he had to hire assistants to help him with his work. As the political climate settled down, so did the requests for his lively styled portraits. The clients preferred a more serious and traditional portrait. As a result, his popularity had started to fade by 1640. His palette of color changed from vibrant on dark backgrounds to more neutral tones, where, flesh tones, golden browns, black and white, and grays were dominant. He was able to maintain a level of richness even though his palette had changed to suit the more serious social climate.

One of Hals students was Judith Leyster, a female Dutch painter whose work closely emulates that of Hals flamboyant style.  One can see the direct influence that Hals had on this talented artist. His free style of painting also later influenced Edouard Manet and his subtle range of color usage had an effect on Vincent van Gogh.

References:
A Biographical Dictionary of Artists - Sir Lawrence Gowing - ISBN - 1861990731

Frans Hals - Masterpieces in Colours - ISBN: B000855TUI

The Story of Painting - By Sister Wendy Becket

The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals - Michael Kernan