Regentesses of the Old Men's Almshouse
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| Regentesses of the Old Men's Almshouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Frans Hals |
| Year | 1664 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Movement | Dutch Golden Age painting |
| Dimensions | 170.5 cm × 249.5 cm (67.1 in × 98.2 in) |
| Location | Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands |
The Regentesses of the Old Men's Almshouse Haarlem is a regents group portrait of four regentesses and (on the far right) the manager of the house painted by Frans Hals, c. 1664, for the Oude Mannenhuis in Haarlem, the Netherlands. It is a pendant to the Regents of the Old Men's Almshouse.
The regentesses portrayed were (left to right) Adriaentje Schouten, Marijtje Willemsdr (also recorded as regentess of Het Dolhuys), Anna van Damme (first married Abraham de Ridder, then in 1650 married Salomon Cousaert), Adriana Bredenhof (wife of the schout Mattheus Everswijn).[1][2]
Frans Hals painted them in his "loose style", with rough brush strokes. The painting is traditionally dated 1664, though no archival evidence has yet been found to confirm this. The lack of any meticulous finishing, unusual in Hals' portraits of women, lead experts to assume this was painted towards the end of his life when he painted more loosely than in his younger years. The style of the women's dress also places the portrait well past the millstone collars of the 1640s and earlier. The painting currently hangs in the same location for which it was painted, namely the old men's almshouse in Haarlem known today as the Frans Hals Museum. According to Pieter Biesboer, the landscape painting on the rear wall is unidentified, but could possibly be an allegorical representation of the Good Samaritan, though no figures can be seen in it.[2][3]
