COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1999.173
AMICA Library Year:
2000
Object Type:
Paintings
Creator Name:
Hals, Frans
Creator Nationality:
Dutch
Creator Role:
artist
Creator Dates/Places:
c. 1581 - 1666
Biography:
c. 1581/85-1666
Gender:
M
Creator Birth Place:
Antwerp
Creator Death Place:
Haarlem
Creator Name-CRT:
Frans Hals
Title:
Tieleman Roosterman
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
1634
Creation Start Date:
1634
Creation End Date:
1634
Materials and Techniques:
oil on canvas
Dimensions:
Overall: 117cm x 87cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
1999.173
Credit Line:
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
Inscriptions:
inscribed at upper right: ÆTAT SVÆ 36 / AN° 1634
Provenance:
Friedrich Jacob Gsell (b. 1811 or 1812 in Alsace, settled in Vienna circa 1850, died 1871), by 1866; sale Plach, Künstlerhause, Vienna, 14 March 1872 (and successive days), lot 40, `Ein bravourstück des genialen Meisters' (sold for 15,200 fl. to Plach, probably on behalf of Baron Anselm von Rothschild). Rothschild inv. no. AR866.
Context:
Between 1630 and 1640 Frans Hals, one of the great masters of Dutch painting, enjoyed the patronage of some of the wealthiest citizens of Haarlem. Tieleman Roosterman was an extremely rich merchant, whose business in fine linen and silk fabrics extended as far as France. The self-assured Roosterman is fabulously dressed in a black doublet with slashed sleeves, a wide rabat, or collar, lace-edged cuffs, and breeches. With his right hand he holds a large beaver hat. The inscription at the upper right, painted by Hals, gives the sitter's age (36) and the painting's date (1634). The Roosterman family's coat-of-arms (added much later) also appear at the upper right.The picture was painted when Hals was at the height of his powers, but not yet halfway through a long career that ended in poverty. Few painters have ever matched his technical ability or the certainty of his vibrant brushwork, which gives the image the immediacy of something glimpsed quickly. To seize the fleeting look of his subject, Hals probably used no preliminary drawings, but rapidly laid in the lights, half-lights, and shadows with crisp, incisive strokes, so that the forms in some areas of his paintings tend to disintegrate upon close inspection. He thus excluded all detail that cannot be seen from a normal distance with one glance.Hals had ample commissions until the 1650s, yet portraitists in Holland were poorly paid. Throughout his life Hals was unable to earn enough money to keep out of debt. To support his large family he tried picture dealing, art appraising, and restoring--all without success.
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1999.173.tif
