Portrait of a Member of the Haarlem Civic Guard

c. 1636/1638

Frans Hals

Artist, Dutch, c. 1582/1583 - 1666

Shown from the hips up, a man with peachy skin and long, brown curly hair and goatee stands in front of a window opening onto a moonlit sky in this vertical portrait painting. His body faces our right and his right fist, closer to us, rests on his hip so his elbow juts toward us. Wearing a dark, wide brimmed hat, he turns his head to look over his right shoulder directly at us. His eyebrows are slightly raised over brown eyes, and he has a bumpy nose, a slight double chin, and pale pink lips that curve in the suggestion of a smile. He wears a golden yellow jacket with buttons along the sleeve we can see. The wrist of the jacket is trimmed with a wide, lace-edged cuff and a similarly wide, lace-trimmed collar lies over the armor breastplate that covers his chest. A marigold-orange sash is tied around the breastplate as well near the waist, and the goldenrod-yellow jacket drapes from a portly belly over his hips. He stands in front of a gray wall pierced with a rectangular window. The view has a veil of dark gray clouds over the moonlit sky.

Media Options

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Starting in 1568, seven provinces of the Netherlands broke away in revolt against Spanish rule, initiating a war for independence that lasted until 1648. In the early years of the conflict the militias (civic guard companies) of Haarlem in particular put up a heroic fight. By Hals’ time the military front was sufficiently far to the south that the function of these militias had become more social than martial, which explains the presence in this portrait of the elegant lace collar over the iron breastplate and the lace cuffs. Each battalion was divided into three companies based on the colors of the rebel flag—orange, white, and blue; the civic guardsman here clearly was a member of one of the orange companies. Hals, member of the Saint George civic guard since 1612, made a number of large group portraits of the militia companies.

This portrait is one of only two known portraits by Hals of an individual guardsman. It has been dated at various periods of the artist’s career, but recent scholars have placed it at the end of the 1630s on the basis of comparisons with Hals’ civic guard painting Officers and Sergeants of the Saint George Civic Guard Company in the Frans Halsmuseum, which the artist executed about 1639. Hals portrayed himself in the left background among his fellow guardsmen, and is staring at the viewer. Hals’ facial features are remarkably similar to those of the man in this Portrait of a Member of the Haarlem Civic Guard, so much so that one wonders if this image is, in fact, a self-portrait.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 86 x 69 cm (33 7/8 x 27 3/16 in.)
    framed: 110.2 x 95.3 x 7.6 cm (43 3/8 x 37 1/2 x 3 in.)

  • Accession

    1937.1.68

More About this Artwork

Scholarly Article:  Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century: Portrait of a Member of the Haarlem Civic Guard, c. 1636/1638

This horizontal painting shows a group of eight light-skinned musicians and onlookers gathered closely around a rectangular, carpet-covered table. The front edge of the table runs parallel to the bottom edge of the painting, and seems close to us. Shown from about the waist up, the men and women’s vivid lapis-blue, coral-red, buttercup-yellow, lilac-purple, and moss-green garments fall in crisp folds. Bright reflections on the fabric suggest a satin-like material. Two women wear feathers in their hair and one man’s hat is plumed. One man, wearing crimson red and black, sits with his back to us to our left on the near side of the table. He holds the neck of a bass viol, about the size of a cello, with his left hand, and points to pages of an open music book with the bow in his right hand. The other people cluster on the far side of the table. A man to the left plays a violin; a woman at the center plays a guitar-sized bandora, and a woman to our right plays a lute. The musicians, along with a man who leans over the table from between the two women, look down at the music books. A young man behind the woman at the center holds up a glass of pale liquid with his right hand as he touches his left forefinger to his smiling lips. A man and woman stand close together in the background to our right, in the top right corner of the canvas.

Scholarly Series:  Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], Saint Petersburg, by 1774; Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg; sold March 1931 through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1989

  • Frans Hals, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1989, not in catalogue.

1998

  • Museums of the World: Homage to the Pushkin Museum Centenary, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, 1998, unnumbered catalogue.

2003

  • Dutch and Flemish Treasures from the National Gallery of Art, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, 2003, no catalogue.

2019

  • Rembrandt en Retrato en Amsterdam, 1590-1670 [Rembrandt and Amsterdam portraiture, 1590-1670], Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 2020, no. 77, repro.

Bibliography

1773

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.] "Catalogue raisonné des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Galeries, Sallons et Cabinets du Palais Impérial de S. Pétersbourg, commencé en 1773 et continué jusqu’en 1785.” 3 vols. Manuscript, Fund 1, Opis’ VI-A, delo 85, Hermitage Archives, Saint Petersburg,1773-1783 (vols. 1-2), 1785 (vol. 3).

1774

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.]. Catalogue des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Cabinets du Palais Impérial à Saint-Pétersbourg. Based on the 1773 manuscript catalogue. Saint Petersburg, 1774: no. 269, as Portrait d'un officier.

1838

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum. Livret de la Galérie Impériale de l’Ermitage de Saint Petersbourg. Saint Petersburg, 1838: 254, no. 773.

1863

  • Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial, Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. Saint Petersburg, 1863: 165, no. 773.

1864

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Die Gemäldesammlung in der kaiserlichen Ermitage zu St. Petersburg nebst Bemerkungen über andere dortige Kunstsammlungen. Munich, 1864: 172, no. 773.

1870

  • Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1870: 2:124, no. 773.

1883

  • Bode, Wilhelm von. Studien zur Geschichte der holländischen Malerei. Braunschweig, 1883: 90, no. 131.

1895

  • Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 3rd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1895: 2:123, no. 773, repro.

1896

  • Conway, William Martin. The Hermitage. London, 1896: no. 773, repro.

  • Knackfuss, Hermann. Frans Hals. Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1896: 38, repro.

1901

  • Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 4th ed. Saint Petersburg, 1901: 2:141, no. 773, repro.

1902

  • Davies, Gerald S. Frans Hals. London, 1902: 144.

1904

  • Bryan, Michael. Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, biographical and critical. 5 vols. Revised and expanded by George C. Williamson. New York and London, 1903-1905: 3(1904):10.

1906

  • Wurzbach, Alfred von. Niederlandisches Kunstler-Lexikon. 3 vols. Vienna, 1906-1911: 1(1906):640.

1907

  • Williamson, George Charles. "The Hermitage Collection at St. Petersburg." Connoisseur 19 (December 1907): 205-217.

  • Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century. 8 vols. Translated by Edward G. Hawke. London, 1907-1927: 3(1910):89, no. 310.

1908

  • Davies, Gerald S. Frans Hals. Reprint. London, 1908: 140.

1909

  • Moes, Ernst Wilhelm. Frans Hals: sa vie et son oeuvre. Translated by J. De Bosschere. Brussels, 1909: 138.

  • Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Les Chefs-d’Oeuvre de la Galérie de Tableaux de l’Ermitage Impérial à St. Pétersbourg. London, 1909: xxvii, 142, repro.

1912

  • Péladan, Joséphin. Frans Hals 1580(?)-1666. Paris, 1912: 89-90.

1914

  • Bode, Wilhelm von, and Moritz Julius Binder. Frans Hals: Sein Leben und seine Werke. 2 vols. Berlin, 1914: 2:15, no. 214, pl. 137.

  • Bode, Wilhelm von, and Moritz Julius Binder. Frans Hals: His Life and Work. 2 vols. Translated by Maurice W. Brockwell. Berlin, 1914: 2:15, no. 214, pl. 137.

1921

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. Frans Hals: des meisters Gemälde in 318 Abbildungen. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 28. Stuttgart and Berlin, 1921: 320, repro. 222.

1923

  • Knackfuss, Hermann. Frans Hals. Reprint. Bielefeld, 1923: 46-48, repro.

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. Frans Hals: des Meisters Gemälde in 322 Abbildungen. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 28. 2nd ed. Stuttgart, Berlin, and Leipzig, 1923: 320, repro. 235.

1930

  • Dülberg, Franz. Frans Hals: Ein Leben und ein Werk. Stuttgart, 1930: 186, 223.

1936

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. Frans Hals Paintings in America. Westport, Connecticut, 1936: no. 92, repro.

1937

  • Cortissoz, Royal. An Introduction to the Mellon Collection. Boston, 1937: repro. opposite page 40, as Man with a Red Sash.

1941

  • Trivas, Numa S. The Paintings of Frans Hals. New York, 1941: 49, 97, no. 74, repro.

  • Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1941: 95, no. 68, as Portrait of an Officer.

1942

  • National Gallery of Art. Book of illustrations. 2nd ed. Washington, 1942: 68, repro. 24, 240, as Portrait of an Officer.

1949

  • National Gallery of Art. Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 76, repro., as Portrait of an Officer.

1960

  • Baird, Thomas P. Dutch Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art 7. Washington, 1960: 12, color repro., as Portrait of an Officer.

1961

  • Reitlinger, Gerald. The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices 1760-1960. (Vol. 1 of The Economics of Taste). London, 1961: 23-24.

1962

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 90, color repro., as Portrait of an Officer.

1963

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 311, repro., as Portrait of an Officer.

1965

  • National Gallery of Art. Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1965: 65, as Portrait of an Officer.

1966

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1: 218, color repro., as Portrait of an Officer.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 57, repro., as Portrait of an Officer.

  • Gandolfo, Giampaolo et al. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Great Museums of the World. New York, 1968: 132, color repro.

1970

  • Slive, Seymour. Frans Hals. 3 vols. National Gallery of Art Kress Foundation Studies in the History of European Art. London, 1970–1974: 1(1970):57, 2(1970):no. 202, repro., 3(1974):67, no. 125.

1972

  • Grimm, Claus .Frans Hals: Entwicklung, Werkanalyse, Gesamtkatolog. Berlin, 1972: 25, 100, 204, no. 99.

1974

  • Montagni, E.C. L’opera completa di Frans Hals. Classici dell’Arte. Milan, 1974: 101-102, repro., no. 46.

1975

  • National Gallery of Art. European paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Washington, 1975: 170, repro., as Portrait of an Officer.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 268, no. 351, repro.

1976

  • Montagni, E.C. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Frans Hals. Translated by Simone Darses. Les classiques de l'art. Paris, 1976: no. 46, repro.

1978

  • Alberts, Robert C. Benjamin West: a biography. Boston, 1978: 184, no. 6.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 268, no. 345, color repro., as Portrait of an Officer.

1985

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 196, repro., as Portrait of an Officer.

1986

  • Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Grand Rapids and Kampen, 1986: 308.

  • Mittler, Gene A. Art in Focus. Peoria, 1986: 254-255, fig. 14.11.

1989

  • Slive, Seymour. Frans Hals. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem. London, 1989: 284.

  • Grimm, Claus. Frans Hals: das Gesamtwerk. Stuttgart, 1989: no. 100, repro.

1990

  • Grimm, Claus. Frans Hals: The Complete Work. Translated by Jürgen Riehle. New York, 1990: 67-68, 284, no. 100, repro.

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 91, 93, color repro.

1992

  • Fiero, Gloria K. The Age of the Baroque and the European Enlightenment. The Humanist Tradition 4. 1st ed. [7th ed. 2015] Dubuque, Iowa, 1992: 48, 50 fig. 22.11.

1995

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 72-76, color repro. 73.

1998

  • Fiero, Gloria K. Faith, Reason and Power in the Early Modern World. The Humanistic Tradition 4. 3rd ed. New York, 1998: no. 22.11, repro.

  • Egorova, K. S., and M. A. Bessonova. Museums of the World: Homage to the Pushkin Museum Centenary. Exh. cat. Pushkin Museum, Moscow, 1998: 168.

1999

  • Zuffi, Stefano and Francesca Castria, La peinture baroque. Translated from Italian by Silvia Bonucci and Claude Sophie Mazéas. Paris, 1999: 167, color repro.

2000

  • Il'in, Nikolas, and Natalia Semënova. Prodannye sokrovishcha Rossii [Sold Treasures of Russia]. Moscow, 2000: 148-149, repro.

2006

  • Biesboer, Pieter, and Neeltje Köhler, eds. Painting in Haarlem 1500-1850: The Collection of the Frans Hals Museum. Translated by Jennifer Kilian and Katy Kist. Ghent, 2006: 486-488, 607-608, no. 183, repro., no. 429 repro. (guardsman no. 12).

2009

  • Odom, Anne, and Wendy R. Salmond, eds. Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938. Washington, D.C., 2009: 99, 135 n. 62.

2011

  • Fiedler, Susanne, and Torsten Knuth. "Vexierbilder einer Biographie: Dr. Heinz Mansfeld (1899-1959)." Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher 126 (2011):308.

2013

  • Semyonova, Natalya, and Nicolas V. Iljine, eds. Selling Russia's Treasures: The Soviet Trade in Nationalized Art 1917-1938. New York and London, 2013: 138, 174, repro.

2016

  • Jaques, Susan. The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia. New York, 2016: 397, 398, color fig.

Wikidata ID

Q17907618

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