KunstBewusst-Vortrag: Frans Hals. Meister des Porträts (Dr. Norbert Middelkoop)

What is it all about?

Frans Hals, who was born in Antwerp in Flanders and grew up in Haarlem in the Netherlands, was an extraordinarily productive and amusing painter. More than almost any other portraitist of the 17th century, he set groundbreaking impulses with his art and inspired many subsequent generations with his stubbornly expressive style of painting. It is therefore not surprising that the artists of the late 19th century studied the oeuvre of Frans Hals just as intensively as the paintings of Rembrandt and Vermeer - after all, it is easy to recognize the style of Van Gogh in his rapid brushstrokes. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is currently paying tribute to the painter in a major exhibition together with the National Gallery in London. So it's high time to take a closer look at the Haarlem master.

Who is our guest?

Dr. Norbert E. Middelkoop is an expert in 17th century Dutch portrait painting. He has been senior curator of paintings, prints and drawings at the Amsterdam Museum since 1997. In 2019, he successfully defended his dissertation on Amsterdam group portraits.

His curated exhibitions include 'The Portrait Gallery of the Golden Age' at the Hermitage Amsterdam (2014-19), 'Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck, Rembrandt's Master Pupils', a joint project of the Amsterdam Museum and the Rembrandt House Museum (2017-18), and 'Rembrandt and Amsterdam Portrait Painting 1590-1670' at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid (2020).

As temporary curator for Old Masters at the Frans Hals Museum Haarlem (from 2021 to January 2024), he organized the symposium 'Frans Hals: A Survey of Current Research' (Jan. 2023), whose accompanying volume of essays will be published this spring. The exhibitions 'Newcomers - Flemish Artists in Haarlem 1580-1630' (2022) and 'Views of Haarlem - Ruisdael, Berckheyde, Van Goyen' (2023) were also curated by the invited expert.

Admission: Free of charge for members of freunde. Guests 4 €, students 2 €

No pre-registration necessary!