Artwork
Portrait of Nicolaes Hasselaer (1593-1635)
Portrait of Nicolaes Hasselaer (1593-1635) is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Frans Hals. It dates from 1637 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work was painted in Haarlem in 1637 and later entered the Rijksmuseum collection, where it remains on display.
The painting shows Nicolaes Hasselaer, a Haarlem merchant, in conventional 17th-century portrait style. He wears dark clothing against a muted background, typical of formal Dutch portraiture of the era. The work was painted in Haarlem in 1637 and later entered the Rijksmuseum collection, where it remains on display.
The portrait functions both as a record of the sitter's appearance and status and as a representative example of Hals' skill in capturing individual likeness within the broader context of Dutch Golden Age portraiture. Its composition and details reflect the social and artistic conventions of the period.
Technique & Style
The portrait was executed in oil paint on canvas, measuring 79.5 cm by 66.5 cm, and was created in Haarlem in 1637. The work depicts Nicolaes Hasselaer, a man, and is classified as a portrait. It was painted by Frans Hals for Jacob R. H. Neervoort van de Poll and has been part of the Rijksmuseum collection since its acquisition.
The painting has been featured in exhibitions such as The Golden Age: highlights from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Frans Hals, highlighting its significance within the artist's oeuvre.
History & Provenance
The painting is dated 1637 and is attributed to Frans Hals, placing its creation during Hals’s mature period in Haarlem.
It entered the Rijksmuseum collection from the estate of Jacob R. H. Neervoort van de Poll, whose ownership marks the earliest documented link in the modern provenance. The work has remained in the Rijksmuseum’s holdings since that acquisition.
Portrait of Nicolaes Hasselaer (1593-1635) is held by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where it is recorded under inventory number SK-C-186. The work was previously owned by Jacob R. H. H. Neervoort van de Poll and has been featured in the exhibition "The Golden Age: highlights from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Frans Hals" at the Rijksmuseum. It is an oil on canvas portrait measuring 79.5 cm by 66.5 cm, painted in 1637 in Haarlem.
Context
The painting entered the Rijksmuseum collection in 1637 and was later featured in the 2014 exhibition The Golden Age: highlights from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Frans Hals, situating it within the museum's presentation of Dutch Golden Age portraiture. Scholarship on the work emphasizes its role in Frans Hals' development of loose brushwork and psychological immediacy in portraiture, reflecting broader trends in 17th-century Haarlem painting where individual status was conveyed through nuanced depictions of civic identity. The sitter, Nicolaes Hasselaer, belonged to a prominent Haarlem family, linking the portrait to the social networks that underpinned the city's artistic production during this period.
The work's composition and treatment of light have been analyzed as exemplifying Hals' influence on later portraitists, cementing its significance in the narrative of Dutch portraiture's evolution.
Overview
Frans Hals, a leading portraitist of the Dutch Golden Age, executed an oil painting of Nicolaes Hasselaer in 1637. The work presents the merchant‑like figure in a restrained composition, set against a warm, unadorned backdrop that draws the eye to his face and attire. It is part of the Rijksmuseum’s permanent collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
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 of…
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