アントウェルペンに生まれ、幼いころ家族でオランダのハールレムに移り、そこで一生を過ごしました。すばやく大胆な筆づかいで、笑ったり話したりしている瞬間をとらえた肖像画を描きました。市民の自警団の集団肖像画も有名です。19世紀にはマネやゴッホなどの画家たちが、その自由な筆さばきを熱心に研究しました。
Hals was born in Antwerp, and as a child he moved with his family to Haarlem in the Netherlands. He lived there for the rest of his life. With fast, bold brushstrokes, he caught people in the moment of laughing or talking. His group portraits of civic guards are also famous. In the 19th century, painters such as Manet and Van Gogh studied his free brushwork closely.
