In the 14th episode of 'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast’, I discuss Frans Hals' c. 1630s portrait of Claes Duyst van Voorhout, which is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan. Seymour Slive numbered the work number 119, in his 1974 catalogue, and Claus Grimm accepted it as number 81, in his 1989. It was accepted by Wilhelm von Bode, Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, and William Valentiner. It was included in the solo Hals exhibitions of the twentieth century of 1937 and 1989-1990, though only in Washington for the latter. Claes Duyst van Voorhout is depicted in a three-quarter view, standing against a plain, dark background that highlights his figure and attire. He is dressed in a dark, elaborately designed doublet, richly textured, and adorned with intricate gold embroidery. The details of the garment, including the ornate buttons and the subtle play of light on the fabric, showcase Hals's mastery in rendering different materials with striking realism.
Learn more about fashion in seventeenth-century European paintings, see Emilie E.S. Gordenker's 2002 dissertation in book form published by Brepols, Van Dyck and the Representation of Dress in Seventeenth-Century Portraiture.
Read a review of the book, by Julia Marciari Alexander in the Burlington Magazine, from 2004.
You can find John on X @johnbezold and at his website johnbezold.com.
'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast' is published by Semicolon-Press.