In the 11th episode of 'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast’, I discuss Frans Hals' portrait of Catherina Burgman, which is in a private collection. The painting has long been attributed to Hals by scholars, since the late-1800s. Seymour Slive numbered the work number 94, in his 1974 catalogue. It is the pendant to Hals’ portrait of Tieleman Roosterman, numbered 93 in the same catalogue. Hardly ever on public view; it was last exhibited in the 1920s, in London. The painting exemplifies Hals' mastery in capturing the textures of fabrics and the subtleties of facial expressions, as well as his ability to convey the status and personality of his sitters, through detailed and realistic portraiture.

Learn more about pearls in seventeenth-century Dutch paintings in Eddy de Jongh's 1975-1976 article 'Pearls of Virtue and Pearls of Vice', originally published in Simiolus.

Learn about the history of the 'why not both' meme.

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

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