Laura Gilbert blogs about two rarely seen small-scale portraits by Frans Hals in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Gilbert notes that "In the museum's huge, 228-work 'Age of Rembrandt' show in 2007, these roughly 9-by-6.5-inch paintings of Petrus Scriverius and his wife, Anna van der Aar, were unexpected standouts… yet [are] hardly ever on view." The museum website identifies Petrus Scriverius as "a distinguished historian, poet, and scholar of classical literature. His wife, Anna van der Aar, was the daughter of a Leiden city councilman."

View detailed images on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website:

Portrait of Anna van der Aar
Portrait of Petrus Scriverius