_Frans Hals_ (Dutch: 1580-1666).
Among the Dutch portrait-painters, Hals stands second only to
Rembrandt, while for mastery of the brush he is second only
to Velazquez. Though born in Antwerp and a pupil of Karel van
Mander (the Flemish painter and biographer), Hals is claimed
as a member of the Dutch School, inasmuch as his father was
settled at Haarlem in Holland, and he himself lived and worked
there. In style, "though his vigorous drawing recalls by its
boldness the masterly method of Rubens, his manner of giving
to his work a sustained light, his style of composition, and
the choice of his subject, place him unmistakably in the Dutch
School.... No one, either before or after him, ever attained
the marvellous exactness with which he places flesh tints in
juxtaposition, without their mixing together, just as they
come from the palette.... No artist ever manipulated his
brush with such firmness, freedom, and life. In consequence
of his extraordinary ability, Frans Hals has been called 'the
personification of painting'" (Havard: _The Dutch School_,
p. 110). "We prize in Rembrandt," says another critic, "the
golden glow of effect based upon artificial contrast of low
light in immeasurable gloom. Hals was fond of daylight of
silvery sheen. Both men were painters of touch, but of touch
on different keys. Rembrandt was the bass, Hals the treble."
Rembrandt's portraits are the more profound, and there is in
them an intensity of pathetic realism which was beyond the
reach of Hals; but Hals seizes the brighter moments of lusty
life with a force and truth which have never been excelled.
Hals is best seen in the Haarlem Museum in a series of portrait
groups. Of his single portraits, No. 1251 in our Gallery is a
characteristic example, and at Hertford House is a famous and
charming picture, "The Laughing Cavalier," which is full of
what Fromentin well calls "the irresistible verve" of Frans
Hals.
The life of Hals was irregular and improvident, but full also
of work and energy. At a time when the Dutch nation fought
for independence and won it, Hals appears in the ranks of
its military guilds. He was also a member of the Chamber
of Rhetoric, and president of the Painters' Corporation at
Haarlem. In 1610 he married, and five years later was summoned
before the magistrates for ill-treating his wife, and on that
occasion was severely reprimanded for his violent and drunken
habits. His first wife died prematurely, and he saved the
character of his second by marrying her in 1617. With her
he seems to have lived happily for nearly fifty years, and
they brought up a large family. Financial troubles, however,
befell the painter. In 1654 a forced sale of his pictures and
furniture at the suit of his baker brought him to penury. A few
years later we hear of the municipality paying his rent and
firing for him, and granting him a small annuity. His widow
had to seek outdoor relief from the guardians of the poor. His
four sons were all painters, and attained some distinction.
Several of the best Dutch painters--Van der Helst, A. van
Ostade, Metsu, Terburg, Steen, and others--were directly or
indirectly his scholars. In the Haarlem Museum there is a
picture by Job Berck-Heyde, dated 1652, of the studio in which
Frans Hals is surrounded by his sons and pupils.