Boy Playing the Violin and Girl Singing were bought at Sotheby’s with the help of the Rembrandt Association, the Mondrian Fund, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s National Acquisition Fund, the VriendenLoterij lottery and Haarlem municipal council.
The paintings are a unique acquisition for the Netherlands, because they may depict Hals’ own children, and offer us a glimpse of the Netherlands in the 17th century. They will remain together, and will be shown alternately in Haarlem and The Hague.
The two panels, painted in circa 1628, are an important addition to the Netherlands’ public art collection, and to the collections of the two museums. Frans Hals is known internationally for his portraits and his genre paintings: scenes of ordinary people going about their daily business, as might be seen on the streets today. The Dutch national collection has included very few of Hals’ genre scenes until now. The portraits of two children playing music are particularly interesting as the boy and girl may be the artist’s own son and daughter.
‘It’s fantastic that these paintings by Frans Hals, which were owned by a private collector abroad, are now home again’, said Eppo Bruins, Minister of Education, Culture and Science. ‘They offer us a glimpse of daily life in the 17th century, and are a fine example of Hals’ distinctive loose brushwork. It is wonderful that two museums have joined forces, with the support of the government and private donors, to ensure that these first-rate examples of Dutch art will soon be visible for all to enjoy.’
Frans Hals (1583-1666) is one of the most famous, and most innovative, Dutch painters of the 17th century. His dynamic brushwork and spontaneous compositions made his work unique, and were emulated by many. His style quickly became popular and he received many portrait commissions, including from the wealthy brewers and civic guards of Haarlem. He also often portrayed ordinary people, a development that started in Haarlem and other towns, and later spread throughout the country. Later, his work influenced many other artists, including the impressionists and Vincent van Gogh.
The Frans Hals Museum has the world’s largest collection of paintings by Hals, but did not have any of his genre scenes until now. The acquisition of these two panels means that this important element of Hals’ work will also be showcased at the museum. The paintings will be on display at the Frans Hals Museum from mid-July, and will also feature in its Hals-Rembrandt exhibition, which opens in November 2026.
Though the Mauritshuis has some of the finest 17th-century art in its collection, Frans Hals is relatively underrepresented in its collection. From mid-October the paintings will be shown at the Mauritshuis as part of a presentation on the development of genre painting in the early 17th century. The children will appear alongside work by painters like Willem Buytewech and Flemish artist Adriaen Brouwer, who worked in Haarlem around the same time as Hals.
Main Image: Courtesy Virginia Museum of Fine Arts