Michiel de Wael

In the fourth episode of 'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast’, I discuss Frans Hals' portrait of Michiel de Wael, which is in the collection of the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The painting has long been attributed to Hals by scholars Cornelius Hofstede de Groot (1863-1930), Seymour Slive (1920-2014), and Claus Grimm (1930). Slive numbered the work number 85, in his 1974 catalogue. The painting depicts a man, who has throughout history, either been identified as Michiel de Wael, or not, depending on the art historian in question. He is portrayed at a three quarter length, and is turned slightly to his right; wearing a wide-brimmed black hat, framing his face and adding to the proud sense of his stature. His hair is not fully visible, but a mustache and goatee are neatly groomed, giving him a look that was fashionable among the Dutch gentry of the time. More recently, he has been identified by historians and curators as being the pendant to a panel painting of Cunera van Baersdorp, who hailed from a political family in Leiden. The Taft Museum of Art is a fixed collection, meaning that this painting is hardly ever on view, outside of Cincinnati.

To learn more about the Taft Museum of Art, read an essay on the history of the Hals pendants, in the collection.

Learn more about Thinking with Things, by Esther Pasztory.

You can find John on X @johnbezold and at his website ⁠⁠⁠johnbezold.com⁠⁠⁠.

'Frans Hals Paintings—The Podcast' is published by Semicolon-Press.