Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

trements—to convey a sense of the sitter. Because the subject was
usually someone of status or note, such as a pope, king, duchess, or
wealthy banker, the artist’s goal was to produce an image appropriate
to the subject’s station in life. With the increasing number of Dutch
middle-class patrons, the tasks for portraitists became more chal-
lenging. The Calvinists shunned ostentation, instead wearing sub-
dued and dark clothing with little variation or decoration, and the
traditional conventions became inappropriate and thus unusable.
Despite these difficulties, or perhaps because of them, Hals produced
lively portraits that seem far more relaxed than traditional formulaic
portraiture. He injected an engaging spontaneity into his images and
conveyed the individuality of his sitters as well. His manner of execu-
tion intensified the casualness, immediacy, and intimacy in his paint-

ings. Because the touch of Hals’s brush was as light and fleeting as the

moment he captured the pose, the figure, the highlights on clothing,

and the facial expression all seem instantaneously created.

ARCHERS OF SAINT HADRIANHals’s group portraits re-

flect the widespread popularity in the Dutch Republic of vast can-

vases commemorating the participation of Dutch burghers in civic

organizations. These commissions presented a far greater challenge

to the painter than requests to depict a single sitter. Hals rose to the

challenge and achieved great success with this new portrait genre.

His Archers of Saint Hadrian (FIG. 25-9) is typical in that the subject

is one of the many Dutch civic militia groups that claimed credit for

liberating the Dutch Republic from Spain. Like other companies, the

Dutch Republic 681

25-8Gerrit van Honthorst,

Supper Party,1620. Oil on canvas,

4  8  7 . Galleria degli Uffizi,

Florence.

Gerrit van Honthorst spent several

years in Italy and studied the paintings

of Caravaggio, whose influence is

evident in the mundane tavern setting

and the nocturnal light of Supper

Party.

25-9Frans Hals,

Archers of Saint Hadrian,

ca. 1633. Oil on canvas,

6  9  11 . Frans

Halsmuseum, Haarlem.

In this brilliant composi-

tion, Hals succeeded in

solving the problem of

adequately representing

each individual in a

group portrait while

retaining action and

variety in the painting as

a whole.

1 ft.

1 ft.