Gerard van Honthorst

Gerard van Honthorst (1590-1656) was born in Utrecht in The Netherlands. He studied with his father and Abraham Bloemaert. He soon went to Rome, where his night paintings caused such a sensation that he was known as Gherardo delle Notti (Gerard of the Night Scenes). The lighting was derived from Caravaggio's works and Honthorst played a crucial role in bringing knowledge of Caravaggio and his followers to the North. Many painters, including Rembrandt van Rijn and Georges de la Tour, were influenced by Honthorst's Caravaggesque pictures. After nearly ten years in Rome Honthorst settled in Utrecht in 1620, where he soon adopted a much lighter palette. In 1628 he was called to England to paint the royal family. There he made portraits in the manner of Anthony Van Dyck. Honthorst spent the rest of his career as court painter at The Hague, where he largely devoted himself to portraits, becoming one of the few seventeenth-century Dutch artists to earn an international reputation.