DIRK HALS

dirk hals, his brother (born at haarlem, died 1656), is a painter of festivals and ball-rooms. but dirk had too much of the freedom and too little of the skill in drawing which characterized his brother. he remains second on his own ground to palamedes. a fair specimen of his art is a "lady playing a harpsichord to a young girl and her lover" in the van der hoop collection at amsterdam, now in the ryks museum. more characteristic, but not better, is a large company of gentle-folk rising from dinner, in the academy at vienna. literature.--see w. bode, _frans hals und seine schule_ (leipzig, 1871); w. unger and w. vosmaer, _etchings after frans hals_ (leyden, 1873); percy rendell head, _sir anthony van dyck and frans hals_ (london, 1879); d. knackfuss, _frans hals_ (leipzig, 1896); g. s. davies, _frans hals_ (london, 1902). (p. g. k.)