Lot 321: Harmen Hals

Harmen Hals
Haarlem 1611 - 1669
a peasant interior with a man lighting a clay pipe, another figure standing beside him
possible traces of signature lower right
oil on panel
37 by 26.3 cm.; 14 1/2 by 10 1/4 in.
Eldest son of Frans Hals and step brother to Johannes and Claes, Harmen specialised in the depiction of every day Dutch scenes, portraying individuals or groups of peasants in their habitual surroundings, following in the tradition of Judith Leyster and Adriaen Brouwer. His oeuvre is surprisingly small, consisting of only some fifty identified paintings.
Provenance:
With Pieter de Boer, Amsterdam (according to a label on the reverse).