The Frans Hals museum is housed in a beautifully preserved 17th-century former almshouse (Oudemannenhuis) in the Haarlem city center. Frans Hals (1582/83–1666) was born in Antwerp but grew up and worked in Haarlem. Along with Rembrandt and Vermeer, Frans Hals ranks among the most outstanding Dutch painters of the 17th century, especially famous for portraiture.