Portrait of the Artist

Frans Hals, a 17^th-century Dutch artist from Haarlem, The Netherlands, is considered one of the greatest portrait painters in the history of art. His ability to render his sitters—Haarlem citizens, burgomasters, attorneys, wealthy merchants, ministers, pastors, doctors and scholars—in a lifelike manner changed the tradition of portrait painting in the 17^th century. Join Dr. Pieter Biesboer, retired curator of Old Master paintings at the Frans Hals Museum, for a talk on the painter’s techniques and an introduction to the cast of Haarlem characters painted by Hals.