Description
Portraits by Hals often feature bold, jagged brushstrokes. This portrait shows him experimenting with the “wet-into-wet,” technique, in which layers of paint were added in succession without being allowed to dry in between. Note the blended strokes used at the woman’s hairline to suggest individual strands of hair. The sitter has been tentatively identified as Aeltje Dircksdr. Pater (1597–1678), wife of the Haarlem brewer and burgomaster (mayor) Jan de Wael (1594–1663). An inscription states she was 41 when Hals painted her.
Provenance
Private collection, Amsterdam (Until 1851); (Jeronimo de Vries/Johannes Albertus Brondgeest, Amsterdam, sale, September 15, 1851, no. 198, fl. 40 [with pendant], to Brondgeest [bought in]) (1851); Baron Anselm Mayer von Rothschild (1803–1874), Vienna (inv. AR705), by descent to his son, Baron Albert von Rothschild (by 1873-1874); Baron Albert von Rothschild (1844-1911), Vienna, by descent to his son, Alphonse von Rothschild (Probably 1874-1911); Baron Alphonse von Rothschild (1878-1942), until confiscated by the Nazis in March 1938. (Probably 1911-1938); In the possession of the Nazis. Apparently intended for the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, but kept at the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck. By 1945 stored in the salt mines at Alt Aussee. (1938-1945); In possession of the Allies. Restituted to Alphose von Rothschild's widow, Baroness Clarice de Rothschild. (1945-1947); Baroness Clarice de Rothschild (1894-1967); sold to Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York (1947-1948); (Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1948); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (1948-)
Accession Number
1948.137
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 82 x 67 x 6.5 cm (32 5/16 x 26 3/8 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 66.5 x 52.3 cm (26 3/16 x 20 9/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
