Lost Lines: New Light on the Painting Technique of Frans Hals

Given the variation in the consistency of Hals’s paint, it has been suggested that he used a variety of binding media. We believe that this was indeed the case. Removal of varnish from the 1640-41 Regents of St Elisabeth’s Hospital revealed certain puzzling instances of damage. Further examination showed that Frans Hals most likely used an aqueous binding medium in the setting up of his composition. This method could have been very useful to him not only in terms of speeding up the working process, but also for exploring and defining the composition. In the course of our research, the specific loss of certain brushstrokes relating to this first sketch provided an important clue to understanding the technique in which it was carried out.