1580-1666
Frans Hals Galleries
In the field of group portraiture his work is equalled only by that of Rembrandt. Hals's portraits, both individual and group, have an immediacy and brilliance that bring his sitters to life in a way previously unknown in the Netherlands. This effect, achieved by strong Baroque designs and the innovative use of loose brushstrokes to depict light on form, was not to the taste of critics in the 18th century and the early 19th, when his work was characterized as lazy and unfinished. However, with the rise of Realism and, later, Impressionism, Hals was hailed as a modern painter before his time. Since then his works have always been popular. Related Paintings of Frans Hals :. | Portrait of Stephanus Geraerdts | The Merry Drinker (mk08) | Isaak Abrhamsz Massa and Beatrix van der Lean (mk45) | Die Zigeunerin | Willem Croes | Related Artists:
charles edward halleFrench painter, born in 1846 and died in 1919
John MatherAustralian painter, etcher and teacher.
1848-1916
Leon SpilliaertBelgian 1881-1946
Leon Spilliaert (1881 ?C 1946) was a Belgian symbolist painter and graphic artist.
Spilliaert was born in Ostend and from childhood displayed an interest in art and drawing. A prolific doodler and autodidact, he was predominantly a self taught artist. Sickly and reclusive, he spent most of his youth sketching scenes of ordinary life and the Belgian countryside. When he was 21 he went to work in Brussels for Edmond Demon, a publisher of the works of symbolist writers, which Spilliaert was to illustrate. He especially admired the work of Edgar Allan Poe.
Watercolor, gouache, and charcoal were the means by which he produced much of his best work, including a number of self-portraits executed in black crayon in the early years of the twentieth century. A significant influence on Spilliaert was Odilon Redon, whose expressive use of black finds parallels in his own work. Frequently depicting a lone figure in a dreamlike space, Spilliaert's paintings convey a sense of melancholy and silence.
His later work shows a concentration on seascapes. He died in 1946 in Brussels.