Frans Hals
Portrait of a Young Woman
1633
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 43 3/4 x 32 3/4 in. (111.1 x 83.2 cm.)
Credit Line
The Jacob Epstein Collection
Object Number
1951.107
One of the leading masters of seventeenth-century portraiture, Hals is celebrated for the brilliance and candor of his portrayals. Born in Antwerp, he settled in Haarlem, where he painted vivid likenesses in both individual and group portraits of the broad range of people, who inhabited the Dutch city.
The identity of the sitter in this painting is unknown. However, her character, as well as her superior social standing, is revealed through Hals’ restrained incisive delineation, as seen in the meticulous and intricate realization of her lace cuffs and ornate collar. By simplifying his composition and employing a limited palette, he has created an image of unassuming grandeur.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by deposit, 1951; The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, MD by bequest, 1945; Jacob Epstein, Baltimore, MD by purchase, June 17, 1924; Duveen Brothers, Inc., New York, NY by purchase, June 2, 1924; Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, June 2, 1924, no. 23; August de Ridder (1837–1911), Paris; Comte André Mniszech (1823–1905), Paris.
The Städel Institute, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1911 to 1913.
The F. Kleinberger Galleries, “Catalogue of the A. de Ridder Collection Exhibited at the F. Kleinberger Galleries,” November to December, 1913.
The Detroit Institute of Arts, “An Exhibition of Fifty Paintings by Frans Hals,” January 10 to February 28, 1935.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, “A Century of Baltimore Collecting, 1840–1940,” June 6 to September 1, 1941.
Seattle World’s Fair, “Masterpieces of Art: Century 21 Exposition,” April 21 to September 4, 1962.
The Walters Art Gallery, “The Taste of Maryland,” May 17 to August 28, 1984.
The F. Kleinberger Galleries, “Catalogue of the A. de Ridder Collection Exhibited at the F. Kleinberger Galleries,” November to December, 1913.
The Detroit Institute of Arts, “An Exhibition of Fifty Paintings by Frans Hals,” January 10 to February 28, 1935.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, “A Century of Baltimore Collecting, 1840–1940,” June 6 to September 1, 1941.
Seattle World’s Fair, “Masterpieces of Art: Century 21 Exposition,” April 21 to September 4, 1962.
The Walters Art Gallery, “The Taste of Maryland,” May 17 to August 28, 1984.
Wilhelm von Bode, Studien zur Geschichte holländischen Malerei (Braunschweig: Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, 1883), p. 84, no. 59.
E.W. Moes, Frans Hals, sa vie et son oeuvre (Brussels: G. Van Oest, 1909), p. 108, no. 187.
Hofstede de Groot, A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch painters of the seventeenth century, vol. 3 (London: Macmillan, 1910), p. 109, no. 375.
Wilhelm von Bode, The Collection of Pictures of the late Herr A. de Ridder, in his Villa at Schönberg (New York: F. Kleinberger Galleries, 1913), pl. 4.
Wilhelm von Bode, Frans Hals, his life and Work, vol. 1 (Berlin : Photographische Gesellschaft, 1914), pl. 84, no. 144.
W.R. Valentiner, Frans Hals, des Meisters Gemälde (Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1921), p. 121.
W.R. Valentiner, Frans Hals Paintings in America (Westport: F.F. Sherman, 1936), no. 45.
W.H., Valentiner et al, An Exhibition of Fifty Paintings by Frans Hals, exh. cat (Detroit: Detroit Museum of Fine Arts, 1935), no. 21.
William Mathewson Milliken et al, Seattle World’s Fair, Masterpieces of Art: Century 21 Exposition (Seattle: Century 21 Expositions, 1962), no. 27, p. 69.
Seymour Slive, Frans Hals, vol. 3 (New York: Phaidon Publishers Inc., 1974), p. 55, no. 96.
The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland, 1830-1934. [Baltimore, MD]: [Walters Art Gallery], 1984, plate 71, page 43.
Peter C. Sutton, A Guide to Dutch Art in America (Washington DC: Netherlands–American Amity Trust, 1986), p. 4.
Claus Grimm, Frans Hals and His Workshop: RKD Studies, ed. Ellis Dullaart (The Hague: RKD, 2024), no. A3. 26, https://frans-hals-and-his-workshop.rkdstudies.nl/a3-paintings-frans-hals-and-his-workshop-assistants/a319-a329/. (as “Frans Hals and workshop”).
Inscribed: Face, UL, "aeta Svae 28--An 1634"
On View at the BMA
