Dirck Hals (19 March 1591 – 17 May 1656), born at Haarlem, was a

Dutch Golden Age painter Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republi ...

of merry company scenes, festivals and ballroom scenes. He played a role in the development of these types of genre painting. He was somewhat influenced by his elder brother Frans Hals, but painted few portraits.

Biography

According to Houbraken he was the brother of the painter Frans Hals and was specialized in small paintings of "conversation pieces" or "merry companies" (Dutch: ''Gezelschapjes''), scenes of small groups drinking and enjoying themselves. The Haarlem writer Samuel Ampzing mentions both brothers in his ''Praise of Haarlem'' with a poem stating that both brothers were exceptional; Frans painting his portraits "awake", and Dirck painting his figures "purely".