The Frans Hals Museum is a museum in Haarlem, the Netherlands. A museum is typically a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education enjoyment, the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment. ... Haarlem is a city in the west of the Netherlands, capital of the North Holland province. ...

The Dutch Golden Age can be experienced at the Frans Hals Museum. It's a picturesque 17th-century building which still emanates the atmosphere of that time. It is situated in the middle of the historic centre of Haarlem, the town where painting of the Dutch Golden Age first started to flourish. The Frans Hals Museum offers a unique impression of the art of that period. Frans Hals is represented by eleven paintings, including several enormous civic guard pieces. Alongside these are also paintings by Ruisdael, Jan Steen, Saenredam, Van Goyen, Heda as well as many other painters. They immortalized this exciting period for us with inimitable craftsmanship and ingenuity. The hundreds of paintings hang between oak tables and cabinets full of silver and porcelain. Each hour, on the hour, long-case clocks play their tunes. The Dutch Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. ... Self Portrait as a Lutenist (1660-63) Jan Havickszoon Steen (born 1626 (?) in Leiden, died January 1, 1679 in Leiden) was a Dutch painter of the 17th century (also known as the Dutch Golden Age). ...

The building

The Frans Hals Museum originally stems from the 17th century: the typical Dutch stepped gables on the front are reminders of that period. The museum is situated around an inner garden, laid out in 17th-century style. The museum was originally an Oudemannenhuis (Old Men´s Alms House), a place for elderly men during the 17th century. If you stand in front of the building, you immediately see that the old men's home was not a destitute institution. The gateway (now the entrance of the museum) is beautifully decorated with pilasters, a cartouche with coats of arms, and on top, a statue of an old man. The construction of the Oudemannenhuis was commissioned by the city government. No one knows for certain who designed it. Previously it was thought that Lieven de Key had made the design: in that period he was ‘municipal master's house bricklayer’ and designed de Vleeshal, for example. Today, however, people assume that the design was made by Pieter van Campen (Amsterdam 1568-Haarlem 1615), the father of Jacob van Campen who built the Palace on the Dam. The Oudemannenhuis was considered so beautiful at the time that people wrote: the ‘Oldemannenhuys looks much more like a Palace of a Prince’. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Jacob van Campen (1596 - 1657) was a Dutch artist and architect. ...

History of the building

The Oudemannenhuis was built in 1607-1611, commissioned by the city government of Haarlem. In order to finance the construction, a drama society party and a big lottery were organised, garnering total proceeds of some 55,000 guilders. On February 1st, 1609 the first old men occupied the building. At the time they were small houses next to each other, built around a square courtyard. There were two men in each little house. A maximum of 60 elderly men could live there. In 1810 the building received new occupants: 127 orphans were accommodated there. The old men moved to the Proveniershuis on the Grote Houtstraat. The attics of the houses were broken open to create more room for sleeping quarters. In 1854 the orphanage became the property of the Reformed Church. New personnel were also hired in addition to the housefather and the housemother. In the spirit of the Enlightenment, a sewing mother, a schoolmaster and a child nurse were hired. In 1858 the building was expanded with two classrooms. City children could also go there for their education. At the beginning of the 20th century, the building became too small and too expensive to maintain. The orphans moved to a new orphanage on the Olieslagerslaan. The city bought back the building from the church in order to accommodate the municipal art collection. Parts of the regularly adapted building were demolished and built up again in early 17th-century style according to a design by city architect L.C Dumont. The original floor plan, the gateway and main building with the old dining hall, the trustees’ rooms and the infirmary for the elderly men are still maintained. The museum was opened on May 14, 1913. It was named after Frans Hals, the most famous artist of Haarlem. Laughing Cavalier, 1624, canvas, relined, (H) 83cm x (W) 67cm, Wallace Collection, London. ...

The Collection

The Frans Hals Museum maintains an extensive collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. It is a municipal collection that was formerly kept in the Town Hall near the Grote Markt, where the ‘Stedelijk Museum’ (Municipal Museum) has stood since 1862. The collection on the Groot Heiligland 62 has been on display since 1913. Painters whose work is permanently on display in the Frans Hals Museum include Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Johannes Verspronck, Pieter Claesz, Hendrick Goltzius, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haerlem, Karel van Mander and Adrian Brouwer. The museum also features a large collection of modern and contemporary art, parts of which are variously on display in De Hallen museum on the Grote Markt, which is a part of the Frans Hals Museum. Laughing Cavalier, 1624, canvas, relined, (H) 83cm x (W) 67cm, Wallace Collection, London. ... Hendrik Goltzius (1558 - January 1, 1617), Dutch painter and engraver, was born at Millebrecht, in the duchy of Julich. ... The Continence of Scipio by Carel van Mander (1600) Oil on copper, 44 x 79 cm. ...

Literature

M. Polman, Het Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem 1990 (with English summary) A. Erftemeijer, H. Fuhri Snethlage en N. Köhler, The Frans Hals Museum Haarlem, Amsterdam/Gent 2003

For the exhibition program, visit the museum’s website, www.franshalsmuseum.com.

The Frans Hals Museum, july 2005