Frans Hals was born in Antwerp, Belgium between 1581 and 1585, the son of a weaver from Mechelen. He was a pupil of Karel von Mander from c. 1600-1603. About 1610, Hals married Anacke Hermanszoon, and the following year a son, Herman, was born. Five years later, Hals was summoned before the magistrates for ill-treating his wife and for drunken habits and violent conduct. His wife died a few weeks later.

The following year he married Lysbeth Reyniers, a woman of doubtful character, who gave birth to a daughter a few days after the marriage. The couple lived very happily together for nearly fifty years and raised a family of seven sons and three daughters.

In 1611 he enrolled as an associate o...