Fabritius, Carel (1622-1654)

Dutch painter. He was a pupil of Rembrandt. His own style, lighter and with more precise detail than his master's, is evident for example in The Goldfinch 1654 (Mauritshuis, The Hague). He painted religious scenes and portraits.

He settled at Delft, and was killed in the Delft explosion of 1654, a number of his works (which are now rare) perishing with him. Those which survive show an original genius and an unusual capacity for experiment, as in his View of Delft (National Gallery). Other remarkable paintings are his Self-Portrait (National Gallery) and the famous The Goldfinch (The Hague, Mauritshuis), painted in the year of his death. He may well have inspired Vermeer. His brother, Barent Fabritius (1624-73), was also a pupil of Rembrandt, a painter of religious subjects and portraits, but of less note.