In the first half of the 17th century, the city of Haarlem developed into a flourishing centre of art. Frans Hals and his Haarlem artist colleagues became initiators of great painterly innovations and thus contributed significantly to the artistic upswing that went down in art history as the "Golden Age". The artists developed a preference for pictorial themes that dealt with their own surroundings and were comprehensible to everyone. Special interest was shown in landscape and architectural painting, portraits, city views, still lifes and genre scenes.
Adriaen van Ostade 
