The Story of A Wedding - Painting by Frans Hals Explained

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They just got married! This painting was made to celebrate the union between Isaac Massa and Beatrix van der Laen. They were both prominent citizens of Haarlem. He was a rich merchand and she was the daughter of the mayor. The bride does not wear white, because that was not in fashion yet. But she shows us her wedding ring. It is on the index finger of her right hand. The man would give his bride a ring (at the time it would have been unusual for her to give him a ring as well) and he would place it on that finger because it was believed that the right index-finger was directly connected to the heart through a love-vein. After the first six weeks of marriage she would usually move her ring to the ring-finger because there it doesn’t get in the way as much. She is also wearing a millstone collar. That would only be worn on very special occasions because it is made of 30 meters of very fine linen, that had to be precisely folded every time it was worn. They are sitting in an idyllic garden that does not resemble the area around their native city. It is a made up place of love and beauty. They really look happy, don’t they? It gives the impression that this is not just an arranged match but they actually love each other. I mention that because there is a marked age difference between the two of them. She is 24 years younger than he his. There is a subtle allusion to this fact in the painting. Behind them grow vines. They grow up an old tree. You don’t find many vines in Holland but there is a story that fits here. In the Metamorphoses by Ovid, there is the story of Vertumnus and Pomona. It is a love story where the older Vertumnus wins young Pomona’s heart by telling her that young vines grow best with an old tree as their support. .
The Marriage Portrait of Isaac Massa and Beatrix van der Laen, Frans Hals, ca.1622, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.