In 1630, the Dutch poet and diplomat Constantijn Huygens defined the best portraits as being “the wondrous compendium of the whole man – not only man’s outward appearance but in my opinion his mind as well”. It is a description that perfectly fits Rembrandt, and indeed Huygens was one of the first connoisseurs to recognise the young painter’s uniqueness when he met him in 1629. Huygens may though have been thinking of another figure too, the slightly older artist, Frans Hals (1582-1666).
If Rembrandt was the ultimate painter of psychological depths then Hals was pre-eminent in depicting the will to life. His portraits show both the animate and animation, and he was unparalleled in capturing his subjects’ vivacity, humour and conviviality. Rembrandt’s sitters, notably himself, can be introspective, but Hals showed his as social creatures. The men and women he painted can be found on every street today, everyone knows one, and in Hals’s portraits they catch our eye as we pass.
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