Portrait of a Woman
ca. 1650, reworked probably 18th century
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
39 3/8 x 32 1/4 in. (100 x 81.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1890
Accession Number
91.26.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 17th-century Dutch portrait with Frans Hals' *Portrait of a Woman*, created around 1650. Hals, a master of thelem school during the Dutch Golden Age, was renowned for his ability to capture the essence of subjects with remarkable vitality. This oil on canvas painting, measuring 39 3/8 x 32 1/4 inches, exemplifies his skill in portraying women from the prosperous merchant class, blending realism with a sense of immediacy that brings the sitter to life. Hals' loose, energetic brushstrokes—revolutionary for their time—create a dynamic texture and subtle play of lig...
About the Artist
Frans Hals · 1582–1666
Dutch portrait artist whose unique style of loose brushstrokes was labeled 'unfinished' by some at the time, but whose work is now regarded as equally important to Rembrandt's. Hals painted 'wet on wet'; that coupled with his brushwork and his powerful illumination of his subjects' head and face, his portraits seem more animated than others. Although the reception to his work was often mixed, Hals...