Honthorst, GERARD VAN

Honthorst, GERARD VAN, Dutch painter, born at Utrecht on 4th November 1590, and died there on 27th April 1656. He was a member of the painters' guild of Utrecht (1622-37) and of that of The Hague (1637-52). He twice visited England (1620 and 1628), and painted portraits of the royal family and an allegory (now at Hampton Court). He also found patrons in Elizabeth of Bohemia and the princes of Orange. His best pictures are imitations of Caravaggio, whose works greatly influenced him whilst studying in Rome; he was particularly fond of painting interiors dimly illumined by lamps or candles. The 'Liberation of St Peter,' the 'Martyrdom of St John,' the 'Musician,' the 'House in the Wood,' and the portraits of Mary de' Medici, the king and queen of Bohemia, and the Duke of Buckingham may be taken as representative of his skill.—His brother WILLIAM (1604-66), an historical and portrait painter, worked for the court of Berlin from 1650 to 1664.