Dirck Hals, Musical Company in an Interior

Dirck Hals

1591 Haarlem - 1656 Haarlem

Musical Company in an Interior

Oil on panel (parquetted). 40 x 52 cm.

Monogrammed and dated lower left: DHals 16[...]. Certificate

Dr. Fred Meijer, The Hague, 12.10.2004 Provenance

Sotheby´s New York 14.10.1998, lot 32. - Spanish private collection.

Dirck Hals specialised in depictions of merry company relatively early on in his career. He was introduced to the subject by the painter Willem Buytewech from Rotterdam who lived in Haarlem between 1612 and 1617. His genre scenes were also influenced by the works of his brother Frans Hals.

This work, which Fred Meijer dates to the time around 1635 due to the clothing and style of the figures, was painted at a time when Hals was in the process of changing his colour palette. He relinquished the bright and vivid colours of his earlier works in favour of a subtle blend of ochre, brown, and olive tones. This switch can observed not only in Dirck Hal's works, but also in those of many of his contemporaries. It is referred to as the “tonal phase” of 17th century Dutch painting.