In the seventh episode of 'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast’, I discuss Frans Hals' portrait of 'Willem van Heythuyen', which is in the collection of the Alte Pinakothek, in Munich; which it has been part of, since 1969. The painting was purchased for about 18 million Euros, c. 2024; or, about 12 million 1969 German Marks—the most expensive painter ever sold at the time. Slive numbered the work number 31, in his 1974 catalogue; Grimm catalogued it as number 23, in his 1989 catalogue. It is a full-length portrait of Heythuysen (c. 1590-1650), with his right hand on his hip and his left hand resting on the hilt of a sword. He is set against a large draped curtain in a rich burgundy hue on the right, while to his left, an Italianate landscape is visible—in which a couple can be seen. Standing confidently, Heythuysen is fashionable, and proud; which together, make for a lusciously landscaped life-sized portrait, by Frans Hals.
To learn more about the painting's landscape, read the 2023 chapter 'Collaborations with Other Artists', by Claus Grimm.
You can find the 2006 portrait by Kehinde Wiley, in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
You can find John on X @johnbezold and at his website johnbezold.com.
'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast' is published by Semicolon-Press.