De Heer Bodolphe, 1643
Oil on canvas, 48 3/16 x 38 3/8 in. (122.4 x 97.5 cm)
Bequest of Stephen Carlton Clark, B.A. 1903
1961.18.23
Hals was born in Antwerp, the son of a clothworker and weaver from Malines. Essentially a figure painter, he painted dazzling military groups and solid bourgeois portraits such as these of the Bodolphe couple (see 1961.18.24), as well as quick sketches of fisherboys, ragamuffins, and tavern revelers. The somber tone of these two portraits contrasts with his earlier pictures executed in bright, slashing strokes of color. This was the accepted style for portraiture at the time, however, when Protestant and other cultural ideals required stern, sober depictions of individuals.
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