Frans Hals - "The Laughing Cavalier"

Frans Hals
1580 - 1666 b. Antwerp,
Netherlands
"The Laughing Cavalier"

















"Genius lies not in having new ideas, but being
possessed by the idea that what has already
been said is not enough."

~ Eugene Delacroix


"The Laughing Cavalier" (1624) is a famous painting by the Baroque artist Frans Hals. The current title is a Victorian invention; the subject does, in fact, sport an enigmatic smile, (perhaps Hals answer to the Mona Lisa?). The composition is robust, and flamboyant all at once. The gorgeous silk costume, on close inspection reveals long, quick brushstroke technique. The fame of this painting is accredited to the artist's skill at painting the intricate lace of the costume; and that the glaring eyes eerily seem to follow the viewer from every angle. The identity of the young man is unknown, and originally was called "Portrait of a Young Man".

~ Art Diva of PaintingsToGo.com



Frans Hals was an extraordinary Dutch portrait painter of the 17th century. During his career, his art went through several changes as things in his life changed. He is most known for the freedom and looseness in which he painted.

Frans Hals was the son of a clothworker and a local girl, both from Mechelen. He was born in 1580. When Hals was young, they moved to Haarlem in the Netherlands where he spent the rest of his life. Hals only left Haarlem once, for a visit to Antwerp.

It is not known what happened in the first 25 to 30 years of Hals' life. In 1610, he joined the Guild of St. Luke of Haarlem, which registered artists as masters. Shortly after this, he married Annetje Harmensdochter Abeel. They had two children together but she died in 1615. Two years after that, he married Lysbeth Reyniers and had eight children with her. Out of Hals' eight sons, five of them became painters!

Hals was a student of Carel Van Mander, a painter and poet. Together, they started a painting academy in Haarlem. The best of Hals' early works is a painting called "Banquet of Officers of the Civic Guard of St. George at Haarlem". It was painted with a very free brushstroke that is unlike anything of its time. Looking at this painting can also give you a sense of the relationships between the figures. This is incredible because nobody else painted like this then. All of Hals' early works have a jovial spirit to them. Some of his most popular paintings during this time include "The Merry Company", "Peeckelhaering", "The Merry Drinker", "Malle Babbe" and "Gypsy Girl". In his paintings, he seems to have captured a moment in time.

As Hals grew older, the joviality of his paintings began to disappear. After he reached the age of forty, all of his subjects seemed to have sadness in their faces. Some of his paintings during this time are "Man with Arms Crossed", "The Laughing Cavalier", "Portrait of Isaac Abrahamszoon Massa", "Pieter van den Broecke", "Willem van Heythuyzen" and "Nicolaes Hasselaer". During the period between 1630 and 1650, Hals became very popular and painted more than 100 single portraits and six group portraits. In 1644, Hals became an officer of the Guild of St. Luke.
Frans Hals lived to be very old and as he got into his older age, his paintings really showed how he could portray the human character. After 1650, he didn't get as many commissions and was often harassed by family problems. The commissions he did get were not enough to support him financially and because of this, he had to auction off his possessions. In 1662, his right to assistance was seen and he started getting a yearly pension.

During Hals' old age, his work seemed to show that simply being a living person is enough. His themes became less vivid and less intense and much simpler. He even started painting in mostly blacks and whites. One of his most popular paintings during this time is "Governors of the Old Men's Home at Haarlem". This painting is actually two portraits, one of a group of men and another of a group of women. In these portraits he shows that life does not go on forever. Eventually everyone will die. Hals actually lived at this Old Men's Home of the painting.

Frans Hals was a one of a kind artist. He was different than anyone of his time. Because he was so unique, he did not leave behind many followers, unlike most artists. He did influence Adriaen Brouwer and Edouard Manet though. Hals died in 1666.



Michael Russell