Portrait of a man, probably Jan Miense Molenaer

Frans Hals's Portrait of a Man, probably Jan Miense Molenaer of around 1630 depicts the Haarlem genre painter who married Judith Leyster — the only documented female painter in Hals's immediate circle — if the identification is correct. The possible painter-to-painter portrait would document a direct link between Hals and two of his most important artistic associates, and Hals's treatment creates a figure of alert, slightly amused intelligence appropriate to a fellow artist observing the conventions of portraiture from inside them.

If the identification is correct, Hals paints his fellow artist with the informal directness appropriate to a colleague rather than a client. The handling is characteristically confident, with the face built from rapid, visible brushstrokes that convey personality with extraordinary immediacy.