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Malle Babbe
Frans Hals · Baroque & Dutch Golden Age
- Artist
- Frans Hals (c. 1582–1666)
- Date
- c. 1633–1635
- Dimensions
- 78.5 x 66.2 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany
Malle Babbe shows an old woman with a wild grin, turning sharply to the side as if someone has just called out to her. She holds a large pewter beer tankard, and an owl perches on her shoulder.
A closer look
'Malle Babbe' means 'Mad Babs': the subject was a real woman of Haarlem, Barbara Claes, who was confined in the city's workhouse for the mentally ill, where Hals's own son was also held. Hals captured her in a few minutes of fast, slashing brushstrokes that seem to dissolve her face and collar into flickers of light. The owl, a symbol of folly and drunkenness in Dutch art, reinforces the theme. The bold, sketch-like technique fascinated later painters such as Manet and Courbet, who copied this picture.
History of the painting
In the 19th century the painting belonged to Barthold Suermondt, an industrialist from Aachen with a fine collection of Dutch and Flemish art. In 1874 the Berlin museums bought his collection, and Malle Babbe has been one of the Gemäldegalerie’s most famous works by Hals ever since.
