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Fisherboy by Frans Hals

Frans Hals · 1850-01-01

Fisherboy by Frans Hals is not a portrait of a specific child. It is a genre painting: a study of everyday life painted for the open market around 1630, now in the Rijksmuseum. During the Dutch Golden Age, Haarlem's citizens bought paintings the way we buy prints.

Look at the brushwork on the boy's face. The painter caught this gaze in brisk, loose strokes you can almost count. A red cap and fur-trimmed coat give warmth against the pale sky and distant ships behind him. His hands are tucked into his sleeves, waiting.

Frans Hals spent his career in Haarlem, painting wealthy burghers and working people alike. This fisherboy was painted for whoever might buy it at market. It entered the Rijksmuseum in the early twentieth century.

Hals gave a market-bought fisherboy the same living brushwork as his richest sitters. What catches your eye first: the smile, or the hands?

Details

This fisherboy was painted for the market, not a patron.
This fisherboy was painted for the market, not a patron.
Hands tucked in his sleeves. Waiting for a catch.
Hands tucked in his sleeves. Waiting for a catch.
The vibrant red of the cap contrasts with the darker tones of his clothing and the background.
The vibrant red of the cap contrasts with the darker tones of his clothing and the background.
Transcript

Haarlem, Dutch Golden Age. Art filled every home. This fisherboy was painted for the market, not a patron. Hands tucked in his sleeves. Waiting for a catch. The painter caught this gaze in brisk, loose strokes. The same brushwork he gave Haarlem's richest men.