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Portrait of a Man
Accession # 32.821
Artist Frans Hals
Title Portrait of a Man
Date ca. 1614-1615
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions 29 x 21 3/4 in. (73.7 x 55.2 cm) Frame: 39 x 32 x 4 1/2 in. (99.1 x 81.3 x 11.4 cm)
Credit Line Gift of the executors of the Estate of Colonel Michael Friedsam
Location Visible Storage: Case 15, Screen A (Paintings)

Curatorial Remarks: In this painting by Frans Hals, an unidentified, well-to-do man holds a miniature portrait of a woman, perhaps his wife or fiancée. The hand holding the miniature appears to extend through the simulated oval frame and into the viewer’s own space, an effect known as trompe l’oeil (fool the eye). The loose and bold brushwork for which Hals is known—especially evident in the man’s lace collar and hair—greatly influenced a number of nineteenth-century artists including Giovanni Boldini, whose painting is on view nearby.