detail: malle babbe 1633-35
hals (c. 1582 – 26 August 1666) was a dutch golden age portrait painter who lived and worked in haarlem. he is known for his loose, painterly brushwork, which is what i love best about him. he kind of makes it look easy, but the mastery hals attained allowed him to be as free as he was with his brushes. hockney suggests he used optical devices for the drawing, which was part of what allowed him that level of freedom in his handling of oil paint. art historians are divided on this, but the point is, even if he used optical aides, as we know vermeer did, so what?
his paintings are a delight to look at, and over the years i've learned a lot from him.
my dear friend gary schwartz has guest curated a show currently on at the frans hals museum in haarlem, titled Emotions: pain and pleasure in Dutch painting of the Golden Age, exploring how painters of that period captured doubt, fear, horror or rage on canvas. the exhibition runs through february 15, 2015.
today: we'll be out & about in denver, where we have a meeting this afternoon. as always, i'll have my drawing materials with me and will post any drawing that i make this evening.