Frans Hals: the Everlasting Avant-Gardist

Frans Hals, a painter who met a humble end in the late 17th century, only to be rediscovered in the 19th century, now draws almost half a million tickets in advance sales at Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam. With his nearly 200 works, Hals is a portrait maestro. That’s it. Van Gogh thought so too. His technique is simple, but with playful brushstrokes on a palette of a few colors – art on a modest scale. But what sets him apart from other artists of his time, is his deep understanding of the specific Dutch environment he portrayed.

His success lies in the warmth he depicted in various ways. It’s a warmth that resonates with the realities of the modern world. His signature expressions are smiles and laughter. People in his paintings smile, some subtly, while others burst into hearty laughter. Yet, these simple gestures are vibrant, radiating instant energy. Even the wealthy characters, those thirsty for glory, weighed down by their powerful clothing, crack a smile.

Frans Hals: A Modern Figure of his time

But who exactly was Frans Hals, really? Do we even know what he looked like? Apparently, throughout his work, he was found only in the painting The Officers of the St George Militia Company in 1639, in the bottom left corner, squeezed between other figures. Clearly, self-portrayal didn’t pique his interest. He was a non-conformist painter, steering clear of the typical biblical characters, shepherds, and angels of his time. He didn’t delve into realism, portraying voluptuous, nude women or stoic sophisticated nobles. No. He simply painted people, the people of the city, even if they were barons, bourgeois, doctors – but also many pipe smokers, and street people, some of them behaving oddly, but always capturing their humanity.

Upon a closer look at his paintings, you will notice color patches seamlessly blended. They lead to a strange resemblance, a spontaneous representation of flesh. You could feel their breath, their freedom, coming alive on canvas. One could argue that, while Rembrandt and Vermeer also strive to capture reality, Hals excels beyond them. Hals approach is brutal compared to Rembrandt or Vermeer due to his technique, as well as the presence of irony or satire, making it thoroughly modern. The dynamic brushstrokes add texture and depth to the canvas’ smooth surface, stimulating the viewer’s eye. It’s indeed a distinct kind of brushwork.

The arrangement of characters in portrait paintings reminds us of the compositions we can find in photography. Hals is perhaps among the only painters of his century who competes with modern-era photographers in capturing the reality and ambiance of Dutch society.  During that time, the Dutch Republic broke away from Spain. Amsterdam was a spearhead of the bourgeois era. It was not the Spain of Philip IV, where painters were sponsored by the royal family or its nobles. Commissions were mostly private, coming from councilors, prominent figures, those in the textile industry, doctors, and merchants.

The middle class at that time was on the rise. Frans Hals knew this reality well, being deeply immersed in it. Hals was also known for his love of beer and local wine and often frequented the taverns of Haarlem. In fact, some memories indicated his friends would bring him and tuck him into bed after a night of revelry. Undoubtedly, he found joy in life’s simple pleasure- a genuine man of society.

And yet, dear reader, you may ask yourself what’s worth remembering about Frans Hals. Well, in essence, the aesthetic value of his work lies in the quality of the stroke and the expressiveness of the portrait with laughter being the predominant emotion in his characters. Here is this artist today, at the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, enjoying one of the greatest successes.

“Frans Hals has been a huge surprise to my senses. I would have never imagined that an artist from the 17^th century could be so modern and his art so anti hierarchical. Hals in his portraits represents all social classes and his style of painting with large and loose brushstrokes is so like what we have appreciated in both the impressionist and the post-impressionist artists.

Van Gogh has always considered Hals to be one of his greatest inspirations and I was impressed by the resemblance in style, light, and strokes between the two artists. An example coming to my mind is the painting “Malle Babbe” done by Hals in the early 1630s. In all honesty, if this artwork had been exhibited in the van Gogh Museum, I would have easily thought it was van Gogh. Henry James described the painting as “dashed upon the canvas by a brush superbly confident.”

Carlo Tozzi, founder of st-Art