From Caravaggio to the Utrecht Caravaggisti

 I am in the midst of a series of Smithsonian lectures on the life and works of Johann Vermeer and was intrigued to learn that the works of the Utrecht Caravaggisti "forms a link connecting Caravaggio's Baroque Italian art with the great and famous painters of the Dutch Golden Age," to include Hals, Rembrandt, and the aforementioned Vermeer.  I was unfamiliar with this thread so I thought I would pull on it for a bit.

I began by setting the foundation with a post -- based largely on a Dr. Rocky Ruggiero lecture -- on the life and works of Caravaggio. I continue in this post by establishing the linkage between Caravaggio and the Utrecht Caravaggisti.

Caravaggio had been too busy getting into trouble and running from the law -- and developing phenomenal works of art during the dead periods --to establish a school or to take on students. Rather, subsequent adherence to his style was organic.

According to worldatlas.com, "Caravaggisti art refers to an artistic movement that resulted in a new Baroque painting style" based on the work of Caravaggio and characterized by the use of tenebrism ("the use of profound shadowing and high contrast between areas of light and dark") and chiaroscuro (use of "light and shadows to create a three-dimensional appearance").

The painters who adopted Caravaggio's techniques were called Caravaggisti. Some adopted his techniques for a portion of their careers while others devoted their entire lives to modeling his style. 

The chart below shows the elements of Caravaggio's style in the southwestern quadrant and its further spread along the bottom portion. Style adherents are shown in the upper portions of the chart.

Selected works of a subset of these non-Utrecht Caravaggisti are shown below.

Tavern Scene with a Lute Player
(Chiaroscuro)
Bartolomeo Manfredi

Saint Cecilia and the Angel, c. 1610
(Tenebrism)
Carlo Saraceni

Repenting Magdalene, c. 1635 - c. 1637
(Tenebrism)
Georges de La Tour

David with the Head of Goliath, 1635
(Tenebrism)
Bernardo Strozzi

St. Andrew, c. 1631
(Tenebrism)
Jose de Ribera

Lucretia, 1620
(Tenebrism)
Artemesia Gentileschi

A number of Dutch artists were in Rome in the 1610s at a time when Caravaggio's style was influential. This group included names such as :

• Hedrich Ter Bruggen
• Dirck van Baburen
• Gerst van Honthorst
• Jan van Bijlert
• Matthias Stom

These painters returned to Utrecht and began painting in the Caravaggist style, earning the moniker Utrecht Caravaggisti. I will discuss these men and their works in a follow-up post.

©EverythingElse238