Gerrit van Honthorst (November 4, 1590, Utrecht - April 27, 1656, ibid.) - Dutch artist of the Golden Age; a bright representative of the Utrecht school. He studied with his father and then with Abraham Bloomart.
In the 1610s he studied and worked in Rome, was influenced by Caravaggio, and also in London, where he gave lessons to the daughters of Charles I. Among Honthorst′s Roman students was Matthias Stom.
In 1622 Honthorst was admitted to the painters′ guild of his hometown. In the 1630s he began to work as a portrait painter, in 1637 he moved to The Hague.
In 1641 he was appointed court painter to William, Prince of Orange. In 1649 he participated in the painting of the country palace of Huis ten Bose. In 1652 he returned to Utrecht, where he died a few years later.
In his works, he cultivated the style of Caravaggio, often painted scenes of a tavern with musicians, players and people who eat. He was well versed in chiaroscuro, often painting scenes lit by a single candle.
Some of his most notable works were portraits of the Duke of Buckingham and his family of Hampton Court, King and Queen of Bohemia (Abbey of Hanover and Combe), Maria Medici Amsterdam Stadthuis, 1628, Carl Louis and Rupert, nephews of Charles I Louvre Museum, Baron Craven National Portrait gallery, London.