Home again
The paintings Boy Playing the Violin and Girl Singing (c. 1628) by Frans Hals, recently acquired by the Mauritshuis and the Frans Hals Museum, are coming to Haarlem, the city where they were made almost 400 years ago. They will travel on to the Mauritshuis in early September, to return to the Frans Hals Museum on 5 November 2026 for the Hals - Rembrandt exhibition.
"It’s fantastic that these paintings by Frans Hals, which were owned by a private collector abroad, are now home again."
- Eppo Bruins, Minister of Education, Culture and Science
Own son and daughter
Frans Hals is internationally known for his portraits and genre paintings: depictions of ordinary people in their everyday activities, which you might still encounter on the street today. The Frans Hals Museum has the largest collection of Hals paintings in the world, but had no genre pieces by his hand until now. With these two panels, this important part of Hals' oeuvre also gets a place in the museum. These paintings are extra special because the boy and girl are possibly Hals's own son and daughter.
Children making music
Frans Hals could capture people in paint as if they were really standing in front of you - breathing, gesticulating and talking. Like the two children making music on the small panels. The singing girl beats the beat with her hand, the boy seems to be absorbed in his violin playing. You can almost hear their music!
Support
These paintings were purchased with the support of the Rembrandt Association, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s National Acquisition Fund, the Mondrian Fund, the VriendenLoterij lottery, the Turing Foundation, the Friends of the Frans Hals Museum, the Haarlem municipal council and a number of private benefactors.