Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund · The Cleveland Museum of Art
Image: public domain (CC0) · Museum record & image source ↗
Portrait of Tieleman Roosterman
Frans Hals
- Date
- 1634
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 139 x 109 x 5.5 cm (54 3/4 x 42 15/16 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 117 x 87 cm (46 1/16 x 34 1/4 in.)
- Country / context
- Netherlands
- Movement / tradition
- European and American art
- Collection
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Pathway
- European and American art ↗
An extremely wealthy linen and silk merchant in Haarlem, Tieleman Roosterman was 36 years old when Frans Hals painted his portrait. Unlike many Dutch painters of the period, Hals favored strong, visible brushstrokes that convey the vitality of his sitters. Roosterman strikes a confident pose, his costume sober but luxurious: his sleeves are decorated with braid and buttons, and ribbon rosettes encircle the waist of his doublet. The rich black of his suit is offset by the broad linen collar and lace-edged cuffs—fashionable details befitting a successful cloth merchant.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0Start with what you can see: shapes, surface, colour and scale. How might the listed materials affect the way this object was made and experienced?
Looking prompt · an invitation to observe, not a historical interpretation.
