Frans Hals is one of the most important portrait painters of all time. He was the first artist in Holland to paint social outsiders and genre figures as well as the middle classes, thus giving hitherto unknown visibility to marginalized groups in society. Hals works are characterized by an unusual liveliness and apt characterization. His sketch-like paintings, executed with loose, bold brushstrokes, had a decisive influence on modernist painting.  In addition to a large selection of paintings by Hals, the comprehensive catalogue accompanying the Berlin exhibition also shows works by those around him and situates him as an exceptional figure in the context of his time. Among the 70 works illustrated and presented with concise catalog entries are around 50 of Hals most important paintings from collections in Europe, the USA and Canadaincluding highlights such as Isaac Abrahamsz. Massa and Beatrix van der Laen from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Young Man with a Skull from the National Gallery in London and The Lute Player from the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Frans Hals (Antwerpen 1582/83-Haarlem 1666)

Cover Titlepage Contents Lenders Foreword and Acknowledgments - Dagmar Hirschfelder Dedication Introduction Frans Hals in Berlin - Katja Kleinert Frans Hals, the Innovator Social Elites Collaborating, On Demand or In Conflict On the Margins of Society Malle Babbe Frans Hals’s “volck” – Pupils and Assistants Frans Hals, Forerunner of Modernism Bibliography Photographic Credits Colophon