Portrait of a Man

A bearded man in a black garment and cloak sits in a chair, turned toward the viewer. A large white collar sets off his face, and one hand rests on a small book on a table. The background is a plain brown, and an inscription is written small at the upper right. It is an oil painting measuring 102.9 x 88.9 cm.

The inscription records the sitter's age and the year of painting, from which we know the sitter was 73. The museum's commentary says that this work from Hals's peak captures accurately the dignified look of a preacher, and shows free brushwork reminiscent of a technique of painting directly, without building up underpainting.

Hals is known for a style in which rough, quick brushstrokes catch a sitter's features in an instant, and toward the end of the 1630s his work grew more introspective and its colors more subdued. Compared with the weighty, dignified portraits of Rembrandt, Hals's works are said to have a down-to-earth presence in which one can feel the sitter's breath.