Dirck hals biography of martin

Dirck HALS
Haarlem 1591–656 Haarlem

The family of Dirck and his eldest brother, the famous portrait painter Frans Hals, emigrated from Antwerp after it fell to the Spanish in 1585.

The first evidence of their presence in Haarlem was Dirck's baptism there on March 19, 1591.

Dirck hals biography of martin

Their father was a cloth dresser. Dirck may have learned the rudiments of painting from Frans, who became a master in the guild in 1610. Their middle brother Joost, whose work is unidentified, also was recorded as a painter.

Dirck, like Frans, lived most of his life in Haarlem; however, in 1641–1643 and 1648 (and probably during the intervening years) he was a resident of Leiden. Dirck was a member of the corporalship of the Saint George's civic guard in Haarlem from 1618 to 1624.

Frans was also a member of the guard, and both brothers belonged to the rhetorician's society known as the De Wi