Explore the Masterful Art of Frans Hals: A Major Retrospective at the Rijksmuseum

This retrospective exhibition at the Rijksmuseum celebrates the innovative and lively painting style of 17th-century artist Frans Hals. Featuring around fifty key works, it offers a unique opportunity to trace his artistic development and gain insight into the era's bourgeois realism.

Frans Hals: Strokes of Genius is a major retrospective at the Rijksmuseum dedicated to the extraordinarily productive, innovative, and distinctive 17th-century painter Frans Hals. Considered a founder of a freewheeling style that influenced later movements like Impressionism, Hals's work is presented through a selection of around fifty key pieces. The exhibition allows visitors to witness his artistic growth, from his early works to his mature, confident style, while also offering a fascinating glimpse into the 'bourgeois realism' of his time and the lives of his patrons. Key works from the Rijksmuseum's collection, such as 'The Merry Drinker' and 'Portrait of a Couple,' are displayed alongside significant loans, including 'The Laughing Cavalier' from the Wallace Collection, 'Catharina Hooft with her Nurse' and 'Malle Babbe' from the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, 'Family Group in a Landscape' from the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, and 'Fruit and Vegetable Seller' from a private collection. Notably, the group portrait 'The Banquet of the Officers of the St George Civic Guard' from 1616 is shown outside Haarlem for the first time. The exhibition delves into Hals's life, from his birth in Antwerp to his training in Haarlem, his guild membership, and his influential apprenticeships, providing context for his revolutionary approach to portraiture and his mastery of militia pieces.

Adult tickets are €22.50. Visitors aged 18 and under, and Friends of the museum, receive free admission. A specific start time is required for entry, though Friends can visit anytime without a booking. Guided tours and lectures are available at additional costs and require separate booking. The museum is open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM, with wheelchair access and free WiFi provided. Photography is allowed within the exhibition space without flash.