Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe

Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe

Around 1600, Rome was the cultural centre of the world. The city drew artists and architects from all over Europe like a magnet. Hendrick ter Brugghen, Gerard van Honthorst and Dirck van Baburen also travelled there. They became acquainted with the art of antiquity and the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, but above all they were struck by the revolutionary innovations in painting.

The year 1600 was a Holy Year, with countless major and minor building projects and abundant opportunities for painters to secure commissions. That alone was reason enough to go, but the decisive factor was probably Karel van Mander’s exhortation in 1604, when he mentioned a certain Caravaggio who was doing ‘marvellous things’ there.

Caravaggio was a hot-blooded firebrand who brought about a true revolution in painting: new subject matter, unprecedented realism and powerful contrasts of light and dark, resulting in a frozen monumentality unlike anything seen before. What a shock it must have been for Ter Brugghen, Honthorst and Baburen when they first saw his work.

Rome was a vibrant, cosmopolitan hive of activity. The many young artists who, like the three painters from Utrecht, had come to the city each brought their own culture with them. They spoke different languages, had received different training, and their motivations must also have varied. As their work reveals, each interpreted and translated all these impressions and experiences differently. Every one of them developed an unmistakably individual style.

With one exception, the paintings in the exhibition were created between 1600 and 1630, the key period of Caravaggism. They were painted by the first generation of artists who travelled to Rome. Displayed in groups, the works make their differences immediately apparent. The mutual influence of these artists, who were working in the bustling metropolis at the same time, is also clearly visible.

Comparing and discussing all these paintings was a favourite pastime among their contemporaries. The exhibition invites you to continue that discourse today.