In the 15th episode of 'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast’, I discuss Frans Hals' 1624 portrait The Laughing Cavalier, which is in the collection of the Wallace Collection in London. Seymour Slive numbered the work number 30, in his 1974 catalogue, and Claus Grimm accepted it as number 18, in his 1989. Wilhelm von Bode, Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, and William Valentiner all accepted it, too. The work was not included in any of the twentieth century's Hals exhibitions of 1937, 1962, or 1989-1990. The portrait depicts a young man with a robust and confident demeanor—shown from the waist up, seated against a plain, dark background that accentuates his brightly lit figure. He wears an elaborately embellished doublet, rendered with immaculate detail in its embroidery. This painting is heavily engrained in British cultural, and has been, since it was won at auction in 1865, by Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford.

Read a review of Frans Hals: The Male Portrait by Lelia Packer and Ashok Roy, published by Early Modern Low Countries in 2022.

Lear more about the painting at the Wallace Collection.

You can find John on X ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@johnbezold⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and at his website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠johnbezold.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast' is published by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Semicolon-Press.

In the 14th episode of 'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast’, I discuss Frans Hals' c. 1630s portrait of Claes Duyst van Voorhout, which is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan. Seymour Slive numbered the work number 119, in his 1974 catalogue, and Claus Grimm accepted it as number 81, in his 1989. It was accepted by Wilhelm von Bode, Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, and William Valentiner. It was included in the solo Hals exhibitions of the twentieth century of 1937 and 1989-1990, though only in Washington for the latter. Claes Duyst van Voorhout is depicted in a three-quarter view, standing against a plain, dark background that highlights his figure and attire. He is dressed in a dark, elaborately designed doublet, richly textured, and adorned with intricate gold embroidery. The details of the garment, including the ornate buttons and the subtle play of light on the fabric, showcase Hals's mastery in rendering different materials with striking realism.

Learn more about fashion in seventeenth-century European paintings, see Emilie E.S. Gordenker's 2002 dissertation in book form published by Brepols, Van Dyck and the Representation of Dress in Seventeenth-Century Portraiture.

Read a review of the book, by Julia Marciari Alexander in the Burlington Magazine, from 2004.

You can find John on X ⁠⁠⁠⁠@johnbezold⁠⁠⁠⁠ and at his website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠johnbezold.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast' is published by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Semicolon-Press.

In the 13th episode of 'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast’, I discuss Frans Hals' c. early-1630s work The Fisher Boy, which is in the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. Seymour Slive numbered the work number 71, in his 1974 catalogue. It was accepted by Wilhelm von Bode, Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, William Valentiner, though not Claus Grimm. It was included in the solo Hals exhibitions of the twentieth century of 1937 and 1962, yet only in Washington and not Haarlem and London, for the 1989-1990 exhibition. This painting is a quintessential example of Hals’ skill in capturing the essence of his subjects with both realism and expressive brushwork, with the ever-so-famous ‘virtuosity’ of Hals present, throughout the foreground of the canvas in the clothing of the boy.

You can find John on X ⁠⁠⁠⁠@johnbezold⁠⁠⁠⁠ and at his website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠johnbezold.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast' is published by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Semicolon-Press.