HONTHORST, GERRIT VAN

(1590-1656)

   Dutch painter; member of the Utrecht Caravaggist group. Honthorst was born in Utrecht and went to Rome in c. 1610-1612 where he entered in the service of Márchese Vincenzo Giustiniani. He also worked for the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany, and Cardinal Scipione Borghese. While in the papal city, Honthorst painted mainly religious subjects in the Caravaggist mode. He was particularly fond of nocturnal scenes, with Samson and Delilah (c. 1615; Cleveland Museum of Art) and Christ before the High Priest (c. 1617; London, National Gallery) providing two examples. Upon his return to Utrecht in 1620, he changed to genre, as did most of the Utrecht Caravaggists. His Merry Fiddler (1623; Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum) derives from Caravaggio's single male figures and musicians. Like Caravaggio's Bacchus (1595-1596; Florence, Uffizi), he offers the viewer a drink. This representation, however, lacks Caravaggio's erotic undertones, instead presenting a jolly, festive mood. The single musician type was popularized by Honthorst and the Utrecht Caravaggists in the Netherlands.