Portrait of a Woman, probably Aeltje Dircksdr. Pater

1638

Frans Hals

(Dutch, c. 1581–1666)

Culture

Netherlands

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

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.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1948.137

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Jewelry, lace, and sumptuous fabrics show off this woman's wealth—and the artist's skill in painting them.

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.