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Baroque and Rococo
Frans Hals
Frans Hals(b Antwerp, 1581–5; d Haarlem, 29 Aug 1666).
In the field of group portraiture his work is equalled only by that of Rembrandt. Hals’s portraits, both individual and group, have an immediacy and brilliance that bring his sitters to life in a way previously unknown in the Netherlands. This effect, achieved by strong Baroque designs and the innovative use of loose brushstrokes to depict light on form, was not to the taste of critics in the 18th century and the early 19th, when his work was characterized as lazy and unfinished. However, with the rise of Realism and, later, Impressionism, Hals was hailed as a modern painter before his time. Since then his works have always been popular.
Jacobus Zaffius
1611
Oil on panel, 54,5 x 41,5 cm
Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem
Portrait of a Man Holding a Skull
c. 1611
Oil on panel, 94 x 72,5 cm
Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham
