Frans Hals (n. 1582, Antwerpen - d.

29 august 1666, Haarlem) a fost un pictor olandez din

secolul al XVII-lea, care a excelat n arta portretistic , expresie a unei filosofii aparte n
pictur , care pune accent pe vivacitate, suflu amplu i coloritul vie ii.
Hals a sosit la Haarlem, ora situat n nordul Olandei, pe cnd era copil i a locuit n acest
ora pn la moarte. n epoca respectiv , Olanda cunoa te o perioad de maxim nflorire,
iar Haarlem-ul devine un centru cultural de prim m rime. Hals a fost ucenicul lui Karel van
Mander, dar a renun at rapid la stilul manierist al maestrului s u n favoarea naturalismului,
sub influen a caravaggi tilor olandezi.
Obiectul principal al interesului lui Hals l-au reprezentat ntotdeauna oamenii, iar grani a dintre
portret i scenele de via n pictura lui este destul de mobil . Pe de o parte, personajele din
scenele de via sunt att de sugestive, nct ne creeaz senza ia c sunt portrete dup
natur , pe de alt parte portretele lui Frans Hals sunt asem n toare scenelor de via din
cauza faptului c ele ilustreaz un anumit stil de via , mediul social, coloritul local i
caracterul epocii n care au ap rut.
Cel de-al treilea deceniu al secolului al XVII-lea coincide cu perioada de vrf a crea iei lui
Frans Hals, caracterizat de capodopere precum Cavalerul care rde, Cnt re ul din
l ut , Tn rul flautist sau Malle Bable. Influen a lui Caravaggio, exercitat mai nti asupra
pictorilor din Utrecht, este evident i n arta lui Hals, care introduce n tablourile sale culori
luminoase i o varietate mare de str luciri care nvioreaz fundalul i creeaz profunzime.
Abordeaz , de asemenea, teme noi la vremea respectiv n Olanda, preluate de la
Caravaggio: muzican i, scene desf urate n crciumi, personaje pitore ti din via a ora ului
Haarlem ("vr jitoarea" Malle Babbe, Verdonck).
People often think that Hals 'threw' his works 'in one toss' (aus einem Guss) onto the canvas.
Research of a technical and scientific nature has clarified that this impression is not correct.
True, the odd work was largely put down without underdrawings or underpainting ('alla
prima'), but most of the works were created in successive layers, as was customary at that
time. Sometimes a drawing was made with chalk or paint on top of a grey or pink undercoat,
and was then more or less filled in, in stages. It does seem that Hals usually applied his
underpainting very loosely: he was a virtuoso from the beginning. This applies, of course,
particularly to his somewhat later, mature works. Hals displayed tremendous daring, great
courage and virtuosity, and had a great capacity to pull back his hands from the canvas, or
panel, at the moment of the most telling statement. He didn't 'paint them to death', as many of
his contemporaries did, in their great accuracy and diligence whether requested by their
clients or not.
'An unusual manner of painting, all his own, surpassing almost everyone,' ('Een onghemeyne
[ongewone] manier van schilderen, die hem eyghen is, by nae alle [iedereen] over-treft'),
wrote his first biographer, Schrevelius, in the 17th century on Hals' painting methods. For that
matter, schematic painting was not Hals' own idea (the approach already existed in 16th
century Italy), and Hals was probably inspired by Flemish contemporaries, Rubens and Van
Dyck, in his painting method.
As early as the 17th century, people were struck by the vitality of Frans Hals' portraits. For
example, Haarlem resident Theodorus Schrevelius noted that Hals' works reflected 'such
power and life' that the painter 'seems to challenge nature with his brush'. Centuries
later Vincent van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo: 'What a joy it is to see a Frans Hals, how
different it is from the paintings so many of them where everything is carefully smoothed
out in the same manner.' Hals chose not to give a smooth finish to his painting, as most of his
contemporaries did, but mimicked the vitality of his subject by using smears, lines, spots,
large patches of color and hardly any details.
It was not until the 19th century that his technique had followers, particularly among
the Impressionists. Pieces such as The Regentesses of the Old Men's Alms House and the
civic guard paintings demonstrate this technique to the fullest.