Extraordinarily prolific, innovative, entertaining and a little rough around the edges: Frans Hals was one of the few painters who left their mark on the 17th century. His unmistakable, freewheeling style of painting became so influential that it is easy to forget that he was the founder of this style. So after thirty years, it is high time for a new retrospective. Admire his most beautiful works in the Rijksmuseum from February 16, 2024.
Online special "Strokes of genius"
In Frans Hals: Strokes of Genius, Joanna Lumley takes the visitor back to 17th century Haarlem, where Frans Hals was the first portrait painter of choice. Whether it is a stately regent, a couple in love, a musician, a fishmonger or a laughing child, Hals' innovative painting style lent his subjects an unprecedented agility and vibrancy. When you look at his life story in Frans Hals: Strokes of Genius, Joanna Lumley brings these people even more to life. You will also learn more about Frans Hals himself and explore why his painting style was so revolutionary. In addition, for the first time it will be possible to enlarge his paintings down to the smallest detail.
Frans Hals, Malle Babbe, c. 1640 Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie
On show in Amsterdam for the first time
A selection of around fifty key works has been made from Frans Hals' extensive oeuvre. These include works from the Rijksmuseum's own collection - The Merry Drinker, Portrait of a Couple - and a number of special loans, for which we are very grateful. These include The Laughing Cavalier from the Wallace Collection in London, a work that normally never travels, Catharina Hooft with her Nurse and Malle Babbe (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin), Family Group in a Landscape (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid) and Fruit and Vegetable Merchant (Bridgenorth Private Collection). The exhibition offers another premiere: the group portrait The Banquet of the Officers of the St. George's Citizen Guard from 1616 (Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem) will be on display outside the city of Haarlem for the first time.
February 16 to June 9, 2024
