# The Painter Jan Asselyn [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [HALS, Frans]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 64,5 x 46,3 cm ## Commentary In the early seventeenth century portraiture became the predominant and most flourishing branch of painting in Holland; after the heroic struggle for national independence the Dutch merchants, who had laid the foundation of the country' wealth, were disposed to have their portraits painted - singly or in groups - for presentation to their families, their heirs or some society. In Frans Hals's work we can see almost every type of portrait: full-length, half-length, group portraits, studies of heads. Background detail is almost non-existent, the pictures usually being of a summary simplicity with figures in dark clothes and neutral backgrounds. Interpretation of character and expression is the dominant feature, and by means of effective poses and masterly brushwork, made up of black and white and grey strokes, the artist expressed the essence of his sitter's personality. In most cases we do not even know who the sitters were, and it is only recently that the dashing figure in this picture has been identified as the painter Jan Asselyn. ## Related artworks - [A Young Man in a Large Hat]() - [Andries van der Horn]() - [Anetta Hanemans]() - [Anna van der Aar]() - [Banquet of the Officers of the St George Civic Guard Company]() - [Banquet of the Officers of the St George Civic Guard \(detail\)]() - [Banquet of the Officers of the St George Civic Guard]() - [Banquet of the Officers of the St Hadrian Civic Guard Company]() - [Boy holding a Flute \(Hearing\)]() - [Boy Playing a Violin]() - [Boy with a Lute]() - [Buffoon Playing a Lute]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()