Dirck Hals
Merry Company making Music in a Garden
Oil on panel. 55 x 90 cm.
Monogrammed lower left: DH.
This composition, arrangement and choice of motifs are characteristic of the style of Dirck Hals, the younger brother of the painter Frans Hals. Although he was overshadowed by the fame of his elder brother throughout his life, Dirck Hals still managed to find his own distinctive style. He specialised in Dutch social scenes, depicting the manners, pleasures and dress of his contemporaries in Protestant Holland. In this context, cheerful scenes of merry company making music occupy a central place in his oeuvre.
The authenticity of this present work has been confirmed by Britta Nehlsen-Marten. Unfortunately, she only learned of the painting's existence after her 2003 monograph on Dirck Hals was printed.
Certificate
Britta Nehlsen-Marten, 2005.
Provenance
The Soeterwede collection, Leiden 1778. - Collection of Edmond Ruelens, Brussels c. 1880. - Sir George Chetwynd, Bart, 1900. - Morden Rigg Kendal, Westmoreland 1933. - Central Picture Galleries, New York 1956. - Collection of Mark Roijtman, New York, 1960. - Foundation Roijtman New York, 2000. - Joseph Guttmann Galleries, New York. - Private collection, Netherlands.
Literature
For more on the artist: B. Nehlsen-Marten, Dirck Hals 1591-1656. Oevre und Entwicklung eines Haarlemer Genremalers, Berlin 2003.