Earlier Low-Country art movements such as the Romanists and Haarlem Mannerists resulted from local artists traveling to Rome and bringing back their learnings to their home markets. Such also was the case for Utrecht Caravaggism, the subject of the current post. I have laid the foundation with earlier posts on Caravaggio and Caravaggism.
Utrecht
At 40% Catholic in the middle of the 17th Century, Utrecht was the most Catholic of the cities in the United Provinces. And that percentage was even higher if only the elite were evaluated. The city was, however, a key part of a Protestant republic and played important roles in both the Dutch War of Independence (1568 - 1648) and the Thirty-Year War (1618 - 48).
With the resumption of hostilities between the Dutch Republic and Spain, Utrecht was a city in turmoil. In addition to the never-ending troop movement, the religious authorities clamped down on the city's 30,000 inhabitants, forbidding:
- Public celebration of Catholic feast days
- Dancing
- Loud music in taverns and homes
- Drinking
- Gambling
- Sports and games
- Gathering of unmarried youth
This "painting school" encompasses those Dutch Baroque artists who were influenced by Caravaggism while in Rome in the 1610s and upon their return to Utrecht, developed works in the Caravaggisti style. Key players in this drama were Hendrick ter Brugghen, Dirck van Baburen, and Gerard van Honthorst.
They became known as Caravaggisti because they adopted Caravaggio's:
- Strong sense of light
- Dramatic contrast between light and dark
- Focus on emotionally charged subject matter.
Hendrick ter Brugghen
Hendrick ter Brugghen began to study painting in the studio of Abraham Bloemaert at the age of 13. At 15, he travelled to Italy, returning to Utrecht in 1614 (It is thought that he made a second trip to Italy in the 1620/1621 timeframe.). In Rome, ter Brugghen came into contact with, and was influenced by, the paintings of Caravaggio. On his return to Utrecht he painted in the studio of Gerrit van Honthhorst who became one of his key collaborators in standing up this new painting style.
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| Hendrick ter Bruggen P. Bodart |
Ter Brugghen painted genre scenes of musicians and drunks as well as biblical and mythological scenes. He came to be known as the leading painter in the group and this was reflected in the commissions that came his way as well as the adulation that he received from fellow painters. Rubens famously described his work as "... above that of all the other Utrecht artists."
A selection of his works are presented below.
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| Unequal Couple, c. 1623 Hendrick ter Bruggen |
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| Esau Selling his Birthright, 1625 Hendrick ter Bruggen |
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| The Concert, 1627 Hendrick ter Bruggen |
Dirck van Baburen
Dirch van Baburen (1595 - 1624) studied painting in Utrecht under the watchful eye of the "competetnt academic artist" Paulus Moreelse and then spent the years between 1612 and 1620 in Italy. Van Baburen did have some success in Italy but much of the work that he did hewed closely to the Caravaggio line. For example, see van Baburen's The Entombment when compared with Caravaggio's.
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| The Entombment, 1601 - 1604 Caravaggio |
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| The Entombment, 1617 Dirck van Baburen |
Van Baburen returned to Utrecht in 1620 and shared a studio a studio with ter Bruggen from 1622 to 1623. The continuing influence of Caravaggio on his style, especially in the use of light and shadow, is illustrated in his painting Crowning of Jesus Christ with Thorns.
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| Crowning of Jesus Christ with Thorns, 1622 Dirck van Baburen |
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| The Procuress, after 1623 Dirck van Baburen |
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| Man Playing a Jew's Harp, 1621 Dirck van Baburen |
He was the least known of the Caravaggistis but his pictures appear in the background of two Vermeer paintings: Lady Seated at a Virginal and The Concert.
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| Lady Seated at a Virginal, 1670 - 72 Johannes Vermeer |
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| The Concert, 1665 - 66 Johannes Vermeer |
Gerrit van Honthorst
Like Hendrick ter Brugghen, Gerrit van Hanthorst (1592 - 1656) was trained in the studio of Abraham Bloemaert.
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| Gerrit van Honthorst |
He went to Italy and, while there, "copied the naturalism and eccentricities" of Caravaggio. While working there he earned the moniker Gerard of the Night Scenes due to his proclivity for painting night scenes, many lit by a single candle whose direct flame was obscured form the viewer by one of the models.
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| The Procuress Gerrit van Honthorst |
He came back to Utrecht in 1620 where he set up a studio which did very well. Ter Brugghen painted out of this studio for a couple of years.
According to rijksmuseum.nl, "Honthorst's works are numerous, and amply represented in English and Continental galleries. His most attractive pieces are those in which he cultivates the style of Caravaggio, those, namely, which represent taverns, with players, singers and eaters. He shows great skill in reproducing scenes illuminated by a single candle, amply employing the style of chiaroscuro."
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| The Concert, 1623 Gerrit van Honthorst |
Soon after his return to Utrecht, van Honthorst abandoned the Caravaggiste style for a "much lighter palette" and went on to gain great renown for his portraits for the Royal and noble families of Europe.
Legacy
These painters were active in isolation in Utrecht and their very un-Dutch works were overlooked for a very long time. For example, ter Brugghen was really only recognized as a great painter in the middle of the 20th-century and is nowadays regarded as the most important of the three.
In general there is more interest in these painters and their movement because:
- There is now a realization that they formed an important link between Caravaggio's Italian Baroque and Dutch painters such as Rembrandt (clair-obscur), Fran Hals (genre pieces), and Vermeer (use of color).
- They set the tone for later artists who were inspired by Caravaggio, artists such as Georges de la Tour (Lorraine) and Jan Janssen.
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