San Diego Museum of Art - Portrait of Isaac Abrahamsz. Massa

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Portrait of Isaac Abrahamsz. Massa

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Bookmark: https://collection.sdmart.org/objects-1/info/1404

Portrait of Isaac Abrahamsz. Massa

Frans Hals, the Elder, Dutch, (1581 (or 1585)–August 29, 1666)

Creation date: ca. 1635

Creation place: Netherlands

Other Information

Type: Oil Painting

Medium and Support: Oil on panel

Credit Line: Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam

Accession Number: 1946.74

State/Province: North Holland

Dimensions: 8 3/8 in. x 7 3/4 in. (21.27 cm x 19.69 cm)

Currently on view

Provenance

Henry Montagu Templeton, Castle Upton, County Antrim. Ireland ( - June 1863)

J. Böhler, Munich, Bavaria, Germany (ca. 1914 - )

Henry Reinhardt, New York, New York (ca. 1914 - )

Jacques Goudstikker, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (ca. 1914 - July 1915)

Marcus Kappel, Berlin, Germany (July 1915 - 1921)

F. B. Gutmann, Heemstede, North Holland, The Netherlands (1921 - ca. 1937)

Jacob M. Heimann, New York, New York (1946 - February 1947)

Anne R. and Amy Putnam, San Diego, California (February 1947 - February 25, 1947)

San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California (February 25, 1947 - )

Label Copy

Among the portrait painters of 17th-century Holland, Frans Hals was rivaled only by Rembrandt. He was famous for his loose manner of painting, referred to by his contemporaries as the “rough style,” which gives his works the impression of having been created very quickly, as if dashed off in a fury of invention. These wide, loose brushstrokes lend motion and vitality to Hals’s sitters, and they help convey, too, the sense that Hals has, in working quickly, captured the essence of their personalities. The technique was reviled by many of Hals’s contemporaries, but was greatly esteemed and emulated by later painters including Édouard Manet and Vincent Van Gogh. Issac Massa (1586–1643) was a merchant, diplomat to Russia, geographer, and cartographer. He was also a friend of Hals and served as a witness to the baptism of one of the painter’s children. Hals painted him at least three times: in his masterful Portrait of a Married Couple of ca. 1622 (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum), in a single portrait of ca. 1626 (Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario), and in this small painting, which served as the model for Adriaen Matham’s engraved portrait of Massa.

Among the portrait painters of seventeenth-century Holland, Frans Hals was rivaled only by Rembrandt. He was famous for his loose manner of painting, which gives his works the impression of having been created very quickly, as if dashed off in a fury of invention. Loose brushstrokes lend motion and vitality to Hals’s portraits, and they suggest that Hals has, in working quickly, captured the essence of his sitters’ personalities.
Isaac Massa (1586–1643) was a merchant, diplomat to Russia, geographer, and cartographer. Hals painted him at least three times: in his masterful Portrait of a Married Couple of about 1622 (Amsterdam, Rijks museum), in a single portrait of about 1626 (Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario), and in this small painting, which served as the model for an engraving by Adriaen Matham. -- Art of the Portrait 2023
Last Updated: 11/22/2023

Exhibition

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Frans Hals Tentoonstelling ter gelegenheid van het 75-jarig bestaan van het Frans Hals Museum , 7/1/1937 - 9/30/1937

Frans Hals—Rembrandt Los Angeles County Museum of Art , 11/18/1947 - 12/31/1947

The Young Rembrandt and His Times John Herron Art Museum , 2/1/1958 - 5/18/1958

Masterpieces of Art: W. R. Valentiner Memorial Exhibition North Carolina Museum of Art , 4/6/1959 - 5/17/1959

Frans Hals Royal Academy of Arts , 10/1/1989 - 7/22/1990

Franz Hals Paintings , 10/1/1989 - 7/1/1990

Paintings from the Collection of Jacques Goudstikker , 5/10/2008 - 9/7/2008

Small Treasures: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals , and Their Contemporaries North Carolina Museum of Art , 10/11/2014 - 1/4/2015

Art of Portraits The San Diego Museum of Art , 1/27/2016 - 00/00/00

Bibliography

This object has the following bibliographic references:

Mr. Martin E. Petersen. San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego Museum of Art. San Diego, California, 1993
Page Number: 105

Dr. Holly Witchey. San Diego Museum of Art San Diego Museum of Art. San Diego, California, 1993
Page Number: 118, 119, Figure Number: 119

Julia Gethman Andrews (DUP). A Catalogue of European Paintings, 1300-1870 San Diego Museum of Art. San Diego, California, 1947
Page Number: 120-121, Figure Number: 120

The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego Catalogue: San Diego Museum of Art. San Diego, California, 1960
Page Number: 25, Figure Number: 25

E. C. Montagni. L'opera completa di Frans Hals Rizzoli Editore. Milano, Italia, September 1974
Page Number: 98, 99, no. 102b, Figure Number: 102b

Claus Grimm. Frans Hals: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.. New York, New York, 1990
Page Number: 36, 37, 38, Figure Number: 29b

Seymour Slive. Frans Hals Royal Academy of Arts. London, England, 1989
Page Number: 48, 49, Figure Number: 48

Seymour Slive. Frans Hals Phaidon Press Ltd. London, England, 1970
Page Number: 56

Seymour Slive. Frans Hals Phaidon Press Ltd. London, England, 1970
Page Number: 126, 127

Seymour Slive. Frans Hals Phaidon Press Ltd. London, England, 1970
Page Number: 168, Figure Number: 168

Seymour Slive. Frans Hals Phaidon Press Ltd. London, England, 1974
Page Number: 58, no. 103

Peter C. Sutton. A Guide to Dutch Art in America The Netherlands-American Amity Trust, Inc.. Washington, D.C., 1986
Page Number: 270, Figure Number: 404

John D. Morse. Old Master Paintings in North America Abbeville Press Publishers. New York, New York, 1979
Page Number: 164

John D. Morse. Old Masters in America: Rand McNally & Company. New York, New York, 1955
Page Number: 100

Art Gallery DeAgostini. Japan, August 15, 2000
Page Number: 2564, Figure Number: 2564

Howard J. Trienens. Landscape with Smokestacks: Northwestern University Press. Evanston, Illinois, 2000
Page Number: 39

Mr. Steven Kern. San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego Museum of Art. San Diego, California, 2003
Page Number: 125, Figure Number: 125

Mr. Peter C. Sutton. The Burlington Magazine The Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. London, England, January 1990
Page Number: 70

Mr. Peter C. Sutton. Reclaimed: Yale University Press. New Haven, Connecticut, 2008
Page Number: 18, Figure Number: 16

Denis Weller. Small Treasures: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and Their Contemporaries North Caroline Museum of Art. 2014
Page Number: 109-110, Figure Number: p. 108

Marks

Signature, Lower left:

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This object is a member of the following portfolios:

European Art before 1900

Painting

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