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Hals was born in Antwerp, Belgium, and was probably trained by the Dutch painter Karel van Mander. He spent all of his adult life in Haarlem, finding patronage with the wealthy middle-class merchants and burghers of his time. 

Throughout his life he received important commissions for group portraits of the officers and corporations of Haarlem; towards the end of his life he was granted a small pension by the city. He died on September 1, 1666, in what is now the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem.  

• The Netherlands 1937.  "Laughing Boy".  The stamp is a semi-postal and from a set of 5 stamps, issued for the benefit of children's social welfare. 

• German Democratic Republic 1980.  Commemorative issue at the occasion of the 400th birth anniversary of Frans Hals.  Self Portrait. 
  

• GDR 1980.  "Laughing Boy with Flute".

• GDR 1980.  "Portrait of a Man in Yellow Brown Coat".

• GDR 1980.  "The Mulatto".

• GDR 1980.  "Portrait of a Young Man in Black Coat".

"Discours sur la Méthode"
erroneous stamp issued May 24, 1937 

"Discours de la Méthode",
correct stamp issued June 10, 1937

The above stamps are scanned directly from the  French Yvert & Tellier Catalogue. A similar stamp was issued by France in 1996, depicting a portrait directly after the painting shown on the left. 

Although his portraits appear spontaneous and uncalculated, Hals was an expert technician, and his studies are always skillfully composed. His talent is particularly evident in his nine group portraits of the burgher guards and corporations of Haarlem, all of which are now in the Frans Hals Museum.In these group portraits Hals demonstrates his ability to catch each man in a characteristic pose, thus giving the group an air of informality and naturalness; each individual is clearly portrayed, yet all are linked in a well-balanced pattern in line and colour. 

• Russia 1971.  "Portrait of a Man with Gloves".  Belongs to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg (Russia). 

• Liechtenstein 1954. "Portrait of Willem von Heythuysen, Mayor of Haarlem". Overprint of the 1951-stamp 60/20. 

The broad brushstroke is characteristic of his work and adds a robust and lively quality to his portraits, particularly to the genre or character pieces he painted from 1620 to 1640. One of the most famous, the portrait of the gypsy tavern girl La bohémienne (1630, Louvre, Paris) owes its gaiety and brightness to two other painting techniques Hals employed: fully illuminating the figures with direct light, and blending the brilliant colours directly on the canvas. 

• State of Upper Yafa (South Arabia) 1967.  Detail of the painting "Singing Boy with Flute". 

This work is considered his masterpiece, because the style lends a greater austerity and depth to the study, while simultaneously fusing the group into a natural and harmonious pattern. In this group portrait, Hals achieves a new dignity and feeling for the character of the subjects that is absent from his earlier works, yet retains a spontaneous effect by the dexterity and facility of his brushwork. 

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