1627
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Portrait of a Lady is a 1627 oil by Frans Hals, a Baroque work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
The painting shows a woman in a fancy dress. She's wearing a lace cap and a brocaded bodice. The artist used loose brushstrokes to create highlights on her clothes. The background is plain and has the date of the painting on it. This painting is interesting because of its simple background. The artist's use of loose brushstrokes adds a lot to the painting. Check out the work of Frans Hals to see more of this style.
Frans Hals, one of the most celebrated portrait painters of the 17th century, demonstrated here his signature verve in inscribing decoration on black satin and capturing the freshness of his subject’s skin. Adopting the portrait conventions established by such specialists as Paulus Moreelse , Hals enlivened this sitter through the application of loose brushstrokes to create highlights on her lace cap and brocaded bodice. The plain background, which bears the date of the painting and the age of the sitter, focuses attention on the 33-year-old woman’s face and fine attire.
Probably English private collection [W.R. Valentiner stated that it came from an English collection in an expertise dated 16 April 1923 in the curatorial file]; Steinmeyer, Lucerne, by 1921 [see Valentiner 1921]. Henry Reinhardt & Sons, Inc., New York, by 1923 [see letter from Reinhardt to Max Epstein dated 24 April 1923 in curatorial file]; sold to Max Epstein, Chicago, probably in 1923 (died 1954); bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1954.
New York, Reinhardt Galleries, Loan Exhibition of Paintings from El Greco and Rembrandt to Cézanne and Matisse, 15 Jan. - 29 Jan. 1927, cat. no. 4 (ill.). London, Royal Academy of Arts, Exhibition of Dutch Art, 1450-1900, Jan. 4 – Mar. 9, 1929, cat. no. 348 Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, An Exhibition of Fifty Paintings by Frans Hals, Jan. 10 – Feb. 28, 1935, cat. no. 25. Chicago, The Renaissance Society of the University of Chicago, Max Epstein Memorial Exhibition, May 3 - May 14, 1955, cat. no. 7.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Frans Hals the Elder (UK: , US: ; Dutch: ; c. 1582 – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places…
See the richer artist page
