The Frans Hals Phenomenon

Description

Frans Hals (1580-1666) is, like Rembrandt and Vermeer, one of the greats of the Dutch Golden Age. Hals primarily made his name with his lively, virtuoso portraiture made in the bustling, prosperous city of Haarlem: group portraits of high-ranking gentlemen and more informal scenes of drunkards, laughing children and musicians. He was admired by artists such as van Gogh, Édouard Manet, Max Liebermann and James Abbott McNeill Whistler as the first modern painter. This book acquaints the reader with the Dutch master in an accessible manner: what did he look like, who were his predecessors and contemporaries, and what makes him so unique? The first overview of the life and work of Hals written for a broad audience, "Frans Hals" is affordably priced and richly illustrated with many details and reproductions of 69 of Hals' most famous works selected from international collections.