Regentesses of the Old Men's Alms House

The Regentesses of the Old Men's Alms House from 1664 is the companion piece to the male regents' portrait and equally one of Hals's greatest achievements. The four women and their attendant are depicted with the same uncompromising directness as their male counterparts, their dark costumes and white caps creating a severe rhythm across the canvas. The legendary claim that the women appear drunk reflects nineteenth-century myth rather than Hals's intention—the asymmetries in their faces result from his ultra-free brushwork, not inebriation.

Hals's brush moves with astonishing freedom, laying in the white collars and cuffs with broad, confident strokes that suggest form with minimal means. The faces are modeled with a combination of precision in the eyes and near-abstraction in the surrounding features.