# Portrait of a Lady

**Frans Hals** (Dutch, 1582–1666)  
1627  
Oil on canvas  
86.5 × 70.7 cm (34 1/4 × 27 13/16 in.); Framed: 107 × 91.4 × 6.4 cm (42 1/8 × 36 × 2 1/2 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1954.287. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/105945).

## About this work

Frans Hals, one of the most celebrated portrait painters of the 17th century, demonstrated here his signature verve in inscribing decoration on black satin and capturing the freshness of his subject’s skin.

_Text from the Art Institute of Chicago._

Frans Hals painted this in 1627, aged 45. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of oil on canvas.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Frans Hals](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/frans-hals)

Dutch, 1582–1666; born in Antwerp; died in Haarlem

Hals was born in Antwerp but spent his whole career in Haarlem, where he became its leading portraitist. His loose, rapid brushwork, unusual for its time, gives his sitters a sense of movement and spontaneity, whether in commissioned likenesses, lively genre figures or the large group portraits of the city’s civic guards and almshouse regents. His late, darker style was little valued after his death, but painters such as Manet and Van Gogh admired him intensely.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Holland
- The artist was 45
- Real size: about 34 × 28 in (86 × 70 cm). The 24 × 36 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 17th century
- Subjects: portraits: female subject, lace, luxury, wealth, portraits: European subject, portrait, 17th Century
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/266.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/266/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/portrait-of-a-lady-aic-105945).