RIJCKHALS, Frans - b. 1600 Middelburg, d. 1647 Middelburg

Dutch painter (other name: François Ryckhals), active in Middelburg. He was known for his small peasant scenes which included still-lifes of fruit and vegetables. Several of Rijckhals’s still-lifes were formerly attributed to Frans Hals the Younger on the basis of an erroneous reading of Rijckhals complicated monogram. No signed or documented work by Frans Hals the Younger is known.

Because of the stylistic and colouristic resemblances between the work of Frans Rijckhals and Willem Kalf’s early peasant kitchen interiors and his later elaborate (pronk) still-lifes, it seems that Rijckhals was an important influence on the young Kalf.

Still-Life

Frans Rijckhas was a Middelburg painter best known for his small peasant scenes which include displays of fruit and vegetables and of impressive ‘pronk’ still-lifes that include sumptuous gold and silver vessels. Several of Rijckhals’s still-lifes were formerly attributed to Frans Hals the Younger on the basis of an erroneous reading of Rijckhals complicated monogram. No signed or documented work by Frans Hals the Younger is known.