De portretschilder: Frans Hals en zijn wereld

by Steven Nadler, Inge Kok (translator), Frits van der Waa (translator)

Frans Hals was naast Rembrandt en Vermeer een van de drie grote schilders van de zeventiende eeuw. Bovenal was hij de beroemdste portretschilder van zijn tijd. Kooplieden, regentessen, schutters, hele families en collega-kunstenaars stonden in de rij om zich door hem te laten portretteren. Waar zijn tijdgenoten kozen voor precisie, kenmerkte Hals’ stijl zich door levendigheid, zwier en beweging en een opzettelijk gebrek aan verfijning.
Steven Nadler voert de lezer mee in de roerige wereld van de Nederlandse Republiek van de zeventiende eeuw en het artistieke, sociale en culturele leven van Haarlem, waar Frans Hals zijn leven lang woonde. Zoals de schilder met zijn typerende losse penseelvoering zijn geportretteerde tot leven wekte, zo slaagt de biograaf erin de schilder op een unieke manier naderbij te brengen door hem scherp in de historische context te plaatsen.

De Nederlandse editie is voorzien van een voorwoord van Marrigje Rikken, hoofd collecties van het Frans Hals Museum.

Genres: Biography, Art, History, Nonfiction, Art History

456 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 5, 2023

About the author

Steven Nadler is the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. His books include Rembrandt's Jews, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Spinoza: A Life, which won the Koret Jewish Book Award; and A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age (Princeton).

Reviews

[David Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is interesting to read biographies of artists for whom extant records are scant. The author is forced to triangulate between an artist's work, indirect sources, church and civic records, and the general societal and political milieu. Following the methodology can be almost as interesting as the story of the artist's life. I am reminded of the biographies of Bach, Vivaldi, and Vermeer.

While the direct historical record of Frans Hals' life is similarly limited, Nader does an admirable job of filling in the blanks. Fortunately, 17th century life in the United Provinces (the forerunner to the Netherlands) was one of relative public order, record keeping, economic expansion, and prosperity. Nader draws heavily on history, politics, religion, and economics to provide insight into Hals' Haarlem, his patrons, his competition, and, in turn, his life.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this because I wanted to learn about Hals and about the history of Haarlem. We know frustratingly little about Frans Hals, it turns out, but Nadler sure tried to paint a portrait of him. The wider information on 1600s Haarlem was interesting, but I wish had been a little bit more fleshed out with stories of other people around, rather than just listing of facts.

[Janet Self · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was a bit of a slog to get through, but very interesting, nevertheless. I now have a picture in my mind of 17th Century Harlem, both what life was like for Hals as well as Rembrandt and Vermeer, the big three of the Dutch painters. Understanding the political situation as well as what Nadler was able to learn about Hals through court and church records was illuminating.

[Jaap Meindersma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoe schrijf je een biografie over iemand waarvan nauwelijks iets bekend is, behalve de schilderijen die hij maakte en de stad waarin hij leefde? Nou zo! Prachtig boek over Frans Hals en Haarlem…

[Ilya Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an extremely rare combination of being scientifically grounded and very enjoyable to read.