Frans Hals

Born around 1582 in Antwerp, Hals moved to Haarlem as a child when his family fled the chaos of Spanish rule in the southern Netherlands. The city became his home and studio for life - a place where religious art was discouraged in churches but private citizens filled their walls with portraits. Hals built a career painting the wealthy: individuals, couples, families, civic groups. While other Haarlem portraitists worked in tight, polished styles, he developed a looser, more painterly approach. His sitters wore the subdued blacks and whites of respectable fashion, but he captured something warmer - the flicker of personality, a friendliness in the eyes. He also painted tronies, character studies for the open market. He died in Haarlem on 26 August 1666, having spent six decades turning burghers into people.