Frans Hals (born 1580 in Antwerp, died in 1666) was a Dutch painter, mainly of portraits.
- Frans Hals changed the face of portraiture for centuries to come. His form of painting revealed in the subject both a realistic depiction of the subject and an insight into the psyche of the subject. The portraits capture the subject in a split-second moment, what you would see of the person in an everyday occurence.
- The portrayal of his subjects are also comical. The characters are no longer in a dignified, urbane pose, but instead they are informal and caught in the picture without knowing it.
- In group portraits, such as the Archers of St. Hadrian, Hals captures each character in a different manner. The faces are not idealized and clearly distinguishable and their personalities can be revealed in the variety of poses and physiognomy.
- He was a Baroque painter, with intimate realism and a radical apporach.