Willem van Heythuysen
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| Willem van Heythuysen |
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| Frans Hals , 1625/30 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 204.5 x 134.5 cm |
| Old Pinakothek |
The painting Willem van Heythuysen (oil on canvas 204.5 × 134.5 cm), which was created around 1625/1630, is the only life-size portrait of Frans Hals known to us . It shows the wealthy yarn merchant Willem van Heythuysen , who, like Frans Hals himself, lived in Haarlem . This stands in the foreground in front of a purple curtain, which almost completely covers a kind of portal - as if starting a dance step - so that the viewer sees it in a three-quarter view. He has his left arm on his hip, while his right hand grips a precious sword .
Willem van Heythuysen is dressed simply and very stylishly for his time. A broad-brimmed black hat frames a fairly ordinary face: coarse, with strong cheekbones, a strong nose, fashionable mustache and goatee, and strikingly large ears. With his only slightly opened eyes he looked down at the viewer from above . A precious lace frill frames the face from below. He wears a sumptuous robe made of Dutch satin , lace cuffs , a sumptuous belt , black and blue stockings and black patent leather shoes with half-high heels.
In the background of the picture a couple of lovers can be seen, which together with the roses in the lower left corner and the wealth and splendor in which Willem van Heythuysen is depicted, symbolize the transience of youth and beauty . The dimensions of this portrait, the theatrical pose , the staging of the personality and its background reveal strength , power , self-confidence , iron will and assertiveness. Frans Hals particularly emphasizes the face and hands by highlighting the incidence of light and the composition of the painting, e.g. B. the folds of the curtain focused on it.
Willem van Heythuysen's face is depicted realistically and not idealized. He looks down at the viewer from above, which is emphasized even more by the size and placement of the image. His gaze is clear, serious and confident, his mouth loosely closed and expressionless. His upright posture and the outstretched hand on the sword give a military impression. He grips the rapier safely and confidently and holds it less as a support than for personal display. The hand that holds the rapier gives the picture just as much depth as the position of his feet, which testifies to elegance, and the rotation of the body. The slight inclination to the rear and the way in which Willem van Heythuysen's left hand rests on his hip emphasize the theatrically posed pose in front of the red velvet curtain.
Frans Hals describes Willem van Heythuysen in Dutch soberly and as a wealthy, respected man who contributed to the importance and wealth of Holland.
literature
- Claus Grimm: Frans Hals: the complete works. Belser Verlag, Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-7630-1946-4 .