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17th century donor recognition, Dutch master style

(June 3, 2020) Most museums and art galleries operate under the umbrella of charity and are established from the start as houses of culture. The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, Netherlands, however, first came into being as the Old Men’s Almshouse, a place where elderly men living in poverty could live safely and receive regular meals. The almshouses were paid for by charitable contributions.The museum commemorates the work of Frans Hals, the Dutch Golden Age painter who, along with Johannes Vermeer, is considered one of the greats of the Dutch Golden Age. In his old age, as Frans Hals’ own fortune waned, he himself became the recipient of a charitable stipend from the Haarlem city government. As such, his group portraits of the charitable administrators and donors of the Old Men’s Almshouse are rich with the complex emotional details of the relationship between benefactor and recipient. Featured below is Hals’ work, exhibited at the former the Old Men’s Almshouse, as well as the work of Abraham de Vries, C​ornelis Engelsz and an Anonymous painter, exhibited at the Amsterdam Museum and the Rijksmuseum, providing a window into donor recognition, 17th century Dutch master style.


Portrait of Jacobus Zaffius.​ Frans Hals. 1611. Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands.
Jacobus Zaffius was a Catholic provost in Haarlem. He sponsored the addition of five rooms to a local group of almshouses, and this portrait was painted to commemorate his act of philanthropy. The donation of the rooms was itself motivated by an act of charity, when Zaffius was given amnesty from religious persecution by William of Orange. This group of almshouses still exists today, in the form of 10 rooms which are available for women over 60, who have lived in Haarlem for at least five years. (Frans Hals Museum)

The Regents of the Old Men’s Almshouse. F​rans Hals. Oil painting. 1664. Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands. These men are real people, one-time administrators of a charity caring for vulnerable old men in poverty. It is no longer known which name belongs to which face, but the names of the men present are ​Daniel Deinoot, Mattheus Everzwijn, Jonas de Jong, Johannes Walles, and Dr. Cornelis Westerloo. The man in the ruff is a servant whose name has not survived. Some scholars have speculated that the man directly to his left may be drunk. (Frans Hals Museum)
Regentesses of the Old Men’s Almshouse. ​Frans Hals. 1664 (estimated date). Oil painting. Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands. These were female administrators at the Old Men’s Almshouse. From left to right, the women pictured were Adriaentje Schouten, Marijtje Willemsdr, Anna van Damme, Adriana Bredenhof, and an unnamed servant. Marijtje Willemsdr also appears in contemporary records as a regentess of Het Dolhuys, a charitable institution that opened as a hospital for victims of pestilence, but had been converted to a poorhouse for children by the time this portrait was painted, as the health of the population had improved. Adriana Bredenhof was married to Mattheus Everzwijn, one of the men pictured above. (Frans Hals Museum)

Old Man Grateful of Alms​. C​ornelis Engelsz. Oil painting. 1604. Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands. Old man with alms box receives a coin gratefully from a young girl while two boys watch (Frans Hals Museum)
Regents of the City Orphanage. Abraham de Vries. 1633. Oil painting, Amsterdam Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. In this active group portrait, the regents are being introduced to a young orphan. Hasselaer, at the far right, points to the child with his stick, seemingly making eye contact. His posture and rich dress suggest a cheerful but arrogant personality. (Amsterdam Museum)

Nicolaes Hasselaer. Frans Hals. c. 1630-1633. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Hasselaer was a brewer by trade, and a captain in the civic guard, but also acted as a regent for a city orphanage. He appears in this capacity in a group portrait by Abraham de Vries, as the figure on the far right. (Rijksmuseum)


Regents of the Grote of St Elisabeth Gasthuis. F​rans Hals. 1641. Oil painting. Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands. The Grote of St Elisabeth Gashuis was a group of charity hospital buildings in Haarlem. The expression of the man on the far right will be familiar to anyone who has participated in organizational meetings. (Frans Hals Museum)

Feature Photo

Hilleke de Roy and Four of her Orphans. ​Anonymous. 1586. Private collection. Displayed in 2000 at the Frans Hals Museum as part of the exhibition ​Pride and Joy: Children’s Portraits in the Netherlands. ​Hilleke de Roy, the first matron of the Gorinchem orphanage, founded with a bequest in 1557/58, is depicted as an active, practical caregiver, combing the hair of a young girl while another child questioningly holds out a book. (Frans Hals Museum)
 

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