Dirck Hals

Dirck Hals painted merry companies: small groups of fashionable young people drinking, playing music, flirting and feasting, in gardens or in elegant halls. His figures are lively and brightly dressed, and his scenes helped shape Dutch genre painting.

He was born in Haarlem in 1591, the younger brother of Frans Hals, and spent most of his career there, with periods in Leiden. Unlike his brother he rarely painted portraits, concentrating instead on small conversation pieces. He died in Haarlem in 1656.

A Merry Company Making Music and Banquet Scene in a Renaissance Hall are typical of his cheerful, crowded scenes.