Petrus Scriverius (1576-1660)

In this portrait of Petrus Scriverius, a distinguished Haarlem historian and poet, Hals employs the scale, oval format and illusionistic frame common in Dutch portrait prints. The male portrait alone was engraved in 1626 by Jan van de Velde II. The painting is a pendant to Hals's portrait of the sitter's wife, Anna van der Aar (also in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 29.100.9). (http://www.metmuseum.org)