Frans Hals the Elder (UK: , US: , Dutch: [fr?ns '??ls]; c.?1582 – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, normally of portraits, who lived and worked in Haarlem.
He is known for his loose painterly brushwork, and helping introduce a lively style of painting to Dutch art.
Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group portraiture.