Honthorst, Gerrit van (1590-1656)

Dutch painter. He painted biblical, mythological, and genre pictures, using a contrast of extremes of light and shade derived from Caravaggio. His importance lies in bringing Italian influences into Dutch art.

He was born in Utrecht, where he studied under Abraham Bloemaert. He then had a period in Rome 1610-20, where he was greatly influenced by Caravaggio and painted artificially lit night scenes which earned him the nickname ‘Gherardo della Notte’ (Gerard of the Night). A fine example is his Christ before Caiaphas (National Gallery, London). On his return to Utrecht, his work became lighter in tone and more decorative, but he was an important link between Italian Caravaggism and Dutch painting. He visited London and worked at Hampton Court in 1628, painting Charles I 1628 (National Portrait Gallery, London). He returned to Holland 1637 and later became court painter in The Hague. His later work consisted of fairly conventional portraits.