Frans Hals, 'Young Man holding a Skull (Vanitas)', 1626-8

Young Man holding a Skull (Vanitas)

Frans Hals

Room 23

About the work

Overview

A life-size figure stands before us, holding a skull in one hand and gesticulating with the other. Although he faces us frontally he looks to his left, and it is the gesture of his right hand that focuses us: his fingers seem to project out from the canvas into our space.

This is one of Hals’s most captivating paintings, as well as an outstanding example of his bold technique of painting freely and quickly, which sets him apart from most artists of the time. There is no trace of underpainting, and the reddish ground shows through in places. In some areas, paint was applied wet-in-wet, blending some of the colours; others are modelled with very coarse hatching.

This painting is not a portrait. The skull is a symbol of mortality, a reminder of the brevity of human life. In the Netherlands depictions of boys holding skulls are rooted in a tradition going back to the early sixteenth century.

In-depth

A life-size figure stands before us, holding a skull in one hand and gesticulating with the other. Shown close up, the young man is facing us frontally but looks to his left, his eyes fixed on something that lies outside of the painting. It is the gesture of his right hand that focuses us. Dramatically foreshortened, his fingers seem to project out of the canvas into our space. With his open mouth and hand, it appears as if he is either about to talk or pausing in the middle of a declamation.

This is one of Hals’s most captivating paintings, as well as an outstanding example of his bold technique of painting freely and quickly, which sets him apart from most artists of the time. There is no trace of the underpainting that was usually employed at the time. The drapery was laid down in one layer over a reddish ground, which shows through in places to provide mid-tones between highlight and shadow. In some areas, such as the red feather, the paint was applied wet-in-wet, blending some of the colours. The contour of the nose was even scratched through wet paint, perhaps with the handle of the brush. And some areas, such as the skull, are modelled with very course hatching.

This painting is not a portrait. The skull is a symbol of mortality, a reminder of the transience of human life. Such a subject is known as a ‘vanitas’ (Latin for vanity), a name derived from a verse in the Old Testament (Ecclesiastes 12: 8): ‘Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity.’ The symbolic character of the painting is underlined by the young man’s costume, which is not contemporary. The beret with a large ostrich feather and the drapery are a fanciful recreation of sixteenth-century fashion, used by painters and actors alike mainly to represent allegorical and historical figures. In fact, the subject has in the past been incorrectly identified as the graveyard scene from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Act V, Scene I), in which Hamlet finds the skull of Yorick, his father’s beloved court jester. Holding the skull, Hamlet speaks as if Yorick is alive before him, and contemplates the temporary nature of life. But there is no evidence that Shakespeare’s famous play was ever performed in the Dutch Republic or translated into Dutch during Hals’s time. Rather, both the painting and Shakespeare’s famous scene are rooted in the same tradition.

The Netherlandish tradition of showing young boys holding skulls can be traced back to engravings of the early sixteenth century. A similar composition to Hals’s painting can be found in a pen drawing by Hendrick Goltzius of 1614. It shows a fancifully dressed youth with a skull, wearing a beret with a multitude of feathers. The Latin inscription in the background leaves no doubt about the symbolic character of the picture. Translated, it reads: ‘Who escapes? No man.’

Want to find out more?

Delve deeper and explore the catalogue entry for this painting.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Young Man holding a Skull (Vanitas)
Artist: Frans Hals
Artist dates: 1582/3 - 1666
Date made: 1626-8
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 92.2 × 80.8 cm
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1980
Inventory number: NG6458
Location: Room 23
Collection: Main Collection
Frame: 17th-century Dutch Frame

Provenance

According to the Elton Hall catalogue it was purchased for Sir James Stuart, Bart., by the painter Andrew Geddes; it passed to his daughter, Mrs Woodcock, 1849; and then to her son, the Revd E. Woodcock, 1875; was inherited by his sister, Mrs Stuart Johnson, 1893; and purchased from her by the 5th Earl of Carysfort, Glenhart Castle, Ireland, in 1895 through Messrs Lawrie, London, for £3,800. By descent to Sir Richard Proby, Bart., MC; it was purchased from the Trustees of the Elton Heirloom Settlement under private treaty sale arrangements in 1980.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2008

Haarlem: the cradle of the Golden Age

Frans Hals Museum

11 October 2008 - 1 February 2009

Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung (Munich)

13 February 2009 - 7 June 2009
2023

The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Frans Hals

The National Gallery (London)

30 September 2023 - 21 January 2024

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

15 February 2024 - 9 June 2024

Gemäldegalerie (Berlin)

12 July 2024 - 3 November 2024

Bibliography

1803

Catalogue of the Truchsessian Picture Gallery, Now Exhibiting in the New Road, Opposite Portland Place: To Which Are Added Biographical Notices, Respecting the German, Dutch and Flemish Masters, London 1803
1907

C. Hofstede de Groot, Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, 10 vols, London 1907
1914

W. von Bode and M.J. Binder, Frans Hals: His Life and Work, Berlin 1914
1924

T. Borenius and J.V. Hodgson, A Catalogue of the Pictures at Elton Hall in Huntingdonshire, in the Possession of Colonel Douglas James Proby, London 1924
1924

R.C. Witt, 'Review', The Burlington Magazine, XLV/260, 1924, pp. 246-8
1949

N.S. Trivas, The Paintings of Frans Hals, London 1949
1953

E. Plietzsch, 'Ausstellung holländischer Gemälde in der Londoner Akademie', Kunstchronik, VI, 1953, pp. 121-32
1972

P.J.J. van Thiel, 'Moeyaert and Bredero: A Curious Case of Dutch Theatre as Depicted in Art', Simiolus, VI/1, 1972, pp. 29-49
1980

National Gallery, 'Pictures Cleaned and Restored in the Conservation Department of the National Gallery, March 1980 - December 1980', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, V, 1981
1982

National Gallery, The National Gallery Report: January 1980 - December 1981, London 1982
1986

N. Schneider, 'Frans Hals' Hamlet: Versuch einer Neudeutung', Pantheon, XLIV, 1986, pp. 30-6
1986

M. Levey, Director's Choice: Selected Acquisitions 1973-1986: An Exhibition to mark the Retirement of Sir Michael Levey as Director of the National Gallery (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 17 December 1986 - 15 February 1987), London 1986
1988

N. Middelkoop and A. van Grevenstein, Frans Hals: Leven, werk, restauratie, Haarlem 1988
1989

C. Grimm, Frans Hals: Das Gesamtwerk, Stuttgart 1989
1990

P. Howson, 'Frans Hals: A Flawed Genius', Modern Painters, III/1, 1990, pp. 26-34
1991

Maclaren, Neil, revised by Christopher Brown, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 1600-1900, 2nd edn (revised and expanded), 2 vols, London 1991
1993

C. Brown, 'Dutch Painting: A Personal View', Low Countries, 1993, pp. 192-203
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2001

H. Smailes, Andrew Geddes, 1783-1844: Painter-Printmaker: 'A Man of Pure Taste' (exh. cat. Scottish National Gallery, 15 February to 29 April 2001), Edinburgh 2001
2003

P. Biesboer and M. Sitts (eds), Satire en vermaak: Schilderkunst in de 17e eeuw: Het genrestuk van Frans Hals en zijn tijdgenoten 1610-1670 (exh. cat. Frans Hals Museum, 20 September 2003 - 6 January 2004; Hamburger Kunsthalle, 30 January - 16 May 2004), Zwolle 2003
2005

G. Cavalli-Björkman et al., Holländsk guldålder: Rembrandt, Frans Hals och deras samtida (exh. cat. Nationalmuseum, 22 September 2005 - 8 January 2006), Stockholm 2005
2007

M.E. Wieseman and E. Greer, Dutch Painting: The National Gallery, London 2007
2007

M.A. Katritzky, '"Some tymes I have a shillinge aday, and some tymes nothinge, so that I leve in great poverty": British Actors in the Paintings of Frans Hals', in T. Nichols (ed.), Others and Outcasts in Early Modern Europe: Picturing the Social Margins, Aldershot 2007, pp. 197-214
2008

P. Biesboer et al., De Gouden Eeuw begint in Haarlem (exh. cat. Frans Hals Museum, 11 October 2008 - 1 February 2009; Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, 13 February - 7 June 2009), Haarlem 2008

Frame

This is a seventeenth-century Dutch cabinetmaker’s box frame. A veneer of palisander, also known as East Indian rosewood, adorns the surface of the pinewood moulding. The hardwood veneer is notable for its distinctive orange-red colour with black streaks. The top moulding has an edge roll and ogee, leading to a fillet. There is a scotia before an edge roll, followed by a baluster sight edge.

The frame was fitted to Hals’s Young Man holding a Skull (Vanitas) in 2015.

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

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