Brief Biography-Frans Hals, a cloth worker’s son, was born in Antwerp, Belgium. At an early age, his family moved to Haarlem in Holland, where he stayed for the rest of his life.It is thought Karel van Mander tutored him; however, there is no substantial evidence of this fact, and Hals did not do history paintings as did Van Mander; he was solely a portraitist. Speculation has it that Hals was mainly self-taught.
He entered the Guild of Saint Luke in 1610 when he married for the first time. Unfortunately, his wife died shortly after having two children. His first important commission was in 1621 for the Banquet of the Officers of the Saint George Civic Guard Company, of which he was a member.
He married a second time to a peasant woman who bore him eight children, three of whom were to become artists. He lived a relatively poor life primarily due to having many children and was continually in debt. In addition, he allegedly had an excessive fondness for alcohol. As a result, he had to supplement his earnings by doing restoration work.
He did, however, have successful periods; he had a studio with several students and received many portrait commissions for families and the town’s nobility. One of his most famous students was Judith Jans Leyster. His brother, Dirck, of the same studio, also became a successful painter. While he endured financial difficulties in his later years, he continued to produce outstanding portraits until he died in 1666. He is particularly renowned for his group portraiture.