Haarlem's Museums

Amsterdam Getaway (cont'd)
Haarlem

By Kelly Monaghan

We hadn't intended to stray from Amsterdam but when we heard at our B&B that there was a special Michelangelo exhibit there and that the place was just 20 minutes away by train, we were off. Haarlem has similarities to Amsterdam, but it hasn't retained its charm quite as well. Just as well, perhaps, because we had precious little time for strolling.

Our first stop had to be Haarlem's Frans Hals Museum. The few Hals at the Rijks reminded me of how much I liked this guy, who seemed to be unique among the Dutch masters in his ability to capture his subjects between expressions. His fluid, economical, almost sketchy technique only heightened the effect of immediacy.

The museum is housed in a former home for "old men," who apparently lived quite well, although I'm sure the place has been spruced up quite a bit. As a sort of appetizer, the museum offers an exhibit about life in Haarlem in its heyday. The beautiful and mysterious woman I travel with lingered here (and reported the lingering was well worth it) while I hustled on to the main event.

One of the striking things about this lovely museum is the way Hals dominates it, even though there are just 13 of his works on display. Of course, some of them are enormous. An entire room is given over to his large group portraits of Haarlem burghers commemorating their civic duties (think Rembrandt's Night Watch in suburbia). These are smashing, with an immediacy that makes today's group photographs look artificial in the extreme.

Also worth lingering over are two of Hals' late works, group portraits of the regents and regentesses of the Old Men's Alms House, painted when Hals was in his 80s. Much has been made of the "unflattering" depictions in these paintings, especially in the one of the regentesses. Some people see revenge in Hals' unsparing gaze, but I suspect what we are seeing is respect of the highest order, for Hals seems to be painting the very souls of these people, the quick, cursive brush strokes bypassing the merely decorative and getting right to the heart of the matter.

Hals contemporaries are shown to good advantage, too, especially Johannes Verspronck whose luminous portraits stand out, and Judith Leyster, a student of Hals and one of the rare female masters of the era.

For me, the big discovery was the work of Peter Saenredam (1597 - 1665), with whom I was unfamiliar. His austere church interiors, based on precise perspective drawings but often executed years later, have an almost abstract feeling. The museum has wisely hung his work with that of contemporaries treating the same subject matter, which just serves to highlight Saenredam's peculiar gift. He is also represented in the Rijksmuseum and his work is well worth seeking out.

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Amsterdam Getaway (cont'd) Haarlem

By Kelly Monaghan

Amsterdam Getaway (cont'd)
Haarlem