Portrait of Isaak Abrahamsz. Massa
Encyclopedia
Portrait of Isaak Abrahamsz. Massa is a 1626 painting
by Frans Hals
that is currently in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario
. It depicts Isaac Massa
, a prosperous merchant and a close friend of Hals. Massa was the subject of an earlier work by Hals – Isaak Abrahamsz Massa and Beatrix van der Lean – which also featured his wife. Massa would commission another portrait by Hals in 1635.
The painting is inscribed with the date 1626, but there is no mention of the identity of the sitter. For many years this led to debate, and it was often assumed to be a self portrait. Wilhelm Valentiner
was a noted proponent of this theory. Other scholars, such as Numa S. Trivas, did advance the idea that it was a portrait of Massa, and this was confirmed by the discovery of an inscription on a 17th-century engraving.
The 1626 portrait is noted for its informality and vitality. Massa appears leaning over the back of a chair, a significant departure from standard formal portrait poses of the period. Hals would later use similar poses in a number of other paintings, and it would also be employed by other artists in later centuries.
Massa had made his fortune as a silk merchant in Russia, and was a noted expert on the country. The view through the window of large coniferous trees may be intended to reflect this, it being a scene out of place in Holland where Hals lived. The landscape in the background may have not been painted by Hals, perhaps being the work of noted landscape artist Pieter de Molijn
. In Massa's hand he holds a sprig of holly. In traditional symbolism this represents friendship and constancy, and may reflect the close relationship between the artist and subject.
For many years the painting was part of the collection of the Earls of Spencer
. The 1822 Bibliotheca Spenceriana, a catalogue of the Spencer collection, describes it as hanging in one of the bedrooms of the estate. In 1924 the 7th Earl Spencer
was forced to sell off part of the family collection to pay down debts. He sold the Hals, along with other works to art merchant Joseph Duveen. The next year Duveen sold the painting to Canadian businessman Frank P. Wood. Upon Wood's death in 1955 his collection was given to the Art Gallery of Ontario, which is where the portrait still resides. In 1959 the painting was stolen from the gallery, along with five other masterworks. The insurance company agreed to pay a ransom for the stolen pictures, and three weeks after disappearing the painting was recovered from a storage room in Parkdale
. It had sustained only slight damage.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
by Frans Hals
Frans Hals
Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...
that is currently in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
. It depicts Isaac Massa
Isaac Massa
Isaac Abrahamszoon Massa was a Dutch grain trader, traveller and diplomat, the envoy to Muscovy, author of memoirs witnessing the Time of Troubles and the maps of Eastern Europe and Siberia. He was married to Beatrix van der Laen...
, a prosperous merchant and a close friend of Hals. Massa was the subject of an earlier work by Hals – Isaak Abrahamsz Massa and Beatrix van der Lean – which also featured his wife. Massa would commission another portrait by Hals in 1635.
The painting is inscribed with the date 1626, but there is no mention of the identity of the sitter. For many years this led to debate, and it was often assumed to be a self portrait. Wilhelm Valentiner
Wilhelm Valentiner
Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner was a German art historian and critic and museum official. He was born at Karlsruhe , and studied at Heidelberg under Henry Thode, and in Holland with De Groot and with Bredius, whose assistant he was at the Gallery of The Hague...
was a noted proponent of this theory. Other scholars, such as Numa S. Trivas, did advance the idea that it was a portrait of Massa, and this was confirmed by the discovery of an inscription on a 17th-century engraving.
The 1626 portrait is noted for its informality and vitality. Massa appears leaning over the back of a chair, a significant departure from standard formal portrait poses of the period. Hals would later use similar poses in a number of other paintings, and it would also be employed by other artists in later centuries.
Massa had made his fortune as a silk merchant in Russia, and was a noted expert on the country. The view through the window of large coniferous trees may be intended to reflect this, it being a scene out of place in Holland where Hals lived. The landscape in the background may have not been painted by Hals, perhaps being the work of noted landscape artist Pieter de Molijn
Pieter de Molijn
Pieter de Molijn was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver born in England.-Biography:He was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Austin Friars church in London. Little is known of his early training, but he probably traveled to Italy and in 1616 he became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. He...
. In Massa's hand he holds a sprig of holly. In traditional symbolism this represents friendship and constancy, and may reflect the close relationship between the artist and subject.
For many years the painting was part of the collection of the Earls of Spencer
Earl Spencer
Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northamptonshire, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
. The 1822 Bibliotheca Spenceriana, a catalogue of the Spencer collection, describes it as hanging in one of the bedrooms of the estate. In 1924 the 7th Earl Spencer
Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer
Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer , styled The Honourable Albert Spencer until 1910 and as Viscount Althorp from 1910 to 1922, and known less formally as "Jack" Spencer, was a British peer...
was forced to sell off part of the family collection to pay down debts. He sold the Hals, along with other works to art merchant Joseph Duveen. The next year Duveen sold the painting to Canadian businessman Frank P. Wood. Upon Wood's death in 1955 his collection was given to the Art Gallery of Ontario, which is where the portrait still resides. In 1959 the painting was stolen from the gallery, along with five other masterworks. The insurance company agreed to pay a ransom for the stolen pictures, and three weeks after disappearing the painting was recovered from a storage room in Parkdale
Parkdale, Toronto
Parkdale is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue, on the north by Queen Street. It is bounded on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street south, and on the south by Lake Ontario...
. It had sustained only slight damage.