The Serenade

The Serenade was created in 1629 as an oil painting on wood panel by Judith Leyster in Haarlem. It entered the collection of Amsterdam merchant Pieter van Winter, later passing to his daughter Lucretia Johanna van Winter and her husband Hendrik Six van Hillegom, then to their son Pieter Hendrik Six van Vromade. The work was attributed to Frans Hals for centuries until Wilhelm von Bode identified the signature in 1883, leading to its proper attribution to Leyster by Hofstede de Groot in 1893. The Rijksmuseum acquired the painting in 1908 from the Six heirs with support from the Vereniging Rembrandt, where it remains on display. The Serenade is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The museum acquired the work in 1908 from the heirs of Jhr. P.H. Six van Vromade, purchasing it alongside 38 other paintings with financial support from the Vereniging Rembrandt. Prior to this acquisition, the painting belonged to the Six family, having entered their collection through the marriage of Lucretia Johanna van Winter to Hendrik Six van Hillegom; it was originally owned by her father, Pieter van Winter. The painting has been featured in several significant exhibitions. It was displayed at the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem for the show Satire en vermaak (2003-2004) and later for a monographic exhibition on Leyster (2009-2010). The work also traveled to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., for a 2009 retrospective, and was included in The Golden Age of Dutch Painting at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha in 2011.

For centuries, The Serenade was misattributed to Frans Hals. Wilhelm von Bode first questioned this in 1883 after noticing a prominent "J" in the signature, tentatively assigning it to Jan Hals. The correct attribution to Judith Leyster was established ten years later by Cornelis Hofstede de Groot in 1893, marking it as one of seven works initially recognized as hers. This reattribution was pivotal in reconstructing Leyster's oeuvre and securing her place in art history alongside her contemporaries.

Scholars note the painting's stylistic debt to Gerrit van Honthorst, particularly in its use of indirect candlelight illuminating the lute player from below. The musician's upward gaze is identified as a characteristic pose within Leyster's broader body of work. The painting's journey from the Six collection to the Rijksmuseum in 1908, facilitated by the Vereniging Rembrandt, cemented its status as a masterpiece of the Dutch Golden Age.

For centuries, The Serenade was misattributed to Frans Hals. In 1883, Wilhelm von Bode identified a prominent "J" in the signature while viewing the work in the Six collection, leading him to incorrectly ascribe it to Jan Hals. The painting was correctly attributed to Judith Leyster in 1893 by Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, marking it as one of the first seven works properly recognized as hers.

Following this reattribution, the Rijksmuseum acquired the painting in 1908 from the Six heirs with support from the Vereniging Rembrandt. Its restored reputation has led to inclusion in major exhibitions, such as the 2009 retrospective at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and subsequent shows at the Frans Hals Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha.