55 Caravaggisti

The Caravaggisti were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. Caravaggio never established a workshop as most other painters did, and thus had no school to spread his techniques. Nor did he ever set out his underlying philosophical approach to art, the psychological realism which can only be deduced from his surviving work. But it can be seen directly or indirectly in the work of Rubens, Jusepe de Ribera, Bernini, and Rembrandt. Famous while he lived, Caravaggio himself was forgotten almost immediately after his death. Many of his paintings were reascribed to his followers, such as The Taking of Christ, which was attributed to the Dutch painter Gerrit van Honthorst until 1990. It was only in the 20th century that his importance to the development of Western art was rediscovered. In the 1920s Roberto Longhi once more placed him in the European tradition: "Ribera, Vermeer, La Tour and Rembrandt could never have existed without him. And the art of Delacroix, Courbet and Manet would have been utterly different". The influential Bernard Berenson stated: "With the exception of Michelangelo, no other Italian painter exercised so great an influence."

Utrecht Caravaggism refers to the work of a group of artists who were from, or had studied in, the Dutch city of Utrecht, and during their stay in Rome during the early seventeenth century had become distinctly influenced by the art of Caravaggio. Upon their return to the Dutch Republic, they worked in a so-called Caravaggist style, which in turn influenced an earlier generation of local artists as well as artists in Flanders. The key figures in the movement were Hendrick ter Brugghen, Gerrit van Honthorst and Dirck van Baburen, who introduced Caravaggism into Utrecht painting around 1620. After 1630 the artists moved in other directions and the movement petered out. The Utrecht Caravaggisti painted predominantly history scenes and genre scenes executed in a realist style.

Dirck Jaspersz. van Baburen was a Dutch painter and one of the Utrecht Caravaggisti.

Marco Antonio Bassetti (1586–1630) was an Italian painter.

Trophime Bigot (1579–1650), also known as Théophile Bigot, Teofili Trufemondi, the Candlelight Master, was a French painter of the Baroque era, active in Rome and his native Provence.

Jan Hermansz van Bijlert was a Dutch Golden Age painter from Utrecht, one of the Utrecht Caravaggisti whose style was influenced by Caravaggio. He spent some four years in Italy and was one of the founders of the Bentvueghels circle of northern painters in Rome.

Hendrick Bloemaert was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

Paulus Bor was a Dutch painter.

Orazio Borgianni was an Italian painter and etcher of the Mannerist and early-Baroque periods. He was the stepbrother of the sculptor and architect Giulio Lasso.

Valentin de Boulogne, sometimes referred to as Le Valentin, was a French painter in the tenebrist style.

Jan Gerritsz van Bronckhorst was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver. He is considered today to be a minor member of the Utrecht Caravaggisti.

Hendrick Jansz ter Brugghen was a Dutch painter of genre scenes and religious subjects. He was one of the Dutch followers of Caravaggio – the so-called Utrecht Caravaggisti. Along with Gerrit van Hondhorst and Dirck van Baburen, Ter Brugghen was one of the most important Dutch painters to have been influenced by Caravaggio.

Jean Ducamps, Giovanni di Filippo del Campo or Giovanni del Campo, was a Flemish Baroque painter who spent most of his career in Italy where he enjoyed notoriety for his religious compositions, genre scenes and allegories. He worked in a style that was influenced by Caravaggio and is counted amongst the Northern Caravaggisti.

Giovanni Battista Caracciolo (1578–1635) was an Italian artist and important Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio.

Cecco del Caravaggio, is the notname given to a painter who worked in Rome in the early decades of the 17th century and was an important early follower of Caravaggio (1571–1610). In the past art historians have suggested he may have been a Flemish, French or Spanish Caravaggist but more recently some have identified the artist with Francesco Boneri, although this is not universally accepted. In his work the artist responded in a very individual and original manner to Caravaggio's naturalism.

Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (1587–1625), occasionally referred to as Bartolomeo Crescenzi, was an Italian caravaggisti painter of the Baroque period. Cavarozzi's work begin receiving increased admiration and appreciation from art historians in the last few decades of the 20th century, emerging as one of the more distinct and original followers of Caravaggio. He received training from Giovanni Battista Crescenzi in Rome and later traveled to Spain alongside his master for a few years where he achieved some renown and was significant in spreading "Caravaggism" to Spain before returning to Italy. His surviving works are predominantly Biblical subjects and still-life paintings, although older references note he "was esteemed a good painter especially of portraits".

Adam de Coster was a Flemish painter. He was a prominent member of the Antwerp Caravaggisti. These Caravaggisti were part of an international movement of European artists who interpreted the work of Caravaggio and the followers of Caravaggio in a personal manner. He is mainly known for his genre scenes with strong chiaroscuro effects. He was called a Pictor Noctium because of his preference for tenebrist scenes.

Wouter Pietersz. Crabeth II was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

Tommaso Donini or Tommaso Dovini, called Il Caravaggino was an Italian painter active mainly in Rome. He was previously erroneously referred to as 'Tommaso Luini' as the 17th century artist biographer Giovanni Baglione referred to him as such in his Le Vite de’ Pittori of 1642. Donini painted altarpieces. He was a follower of Caravaggio.

Domenico Fetti was an Italian Baroque painter who had been active mainly in Rome, Mantua and Venice.

Paolo Domenico Finoglia, or Finoglio, was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque period, active mainly in South Italy, including Naples and towns in Apulia.

Louis Finson, Lodewijk Finson or Ludovicus Finsonius was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, copyist and art dealer. He painted portraits, religious compositions, allegorical paintings and genre scenes. Moving to Italy early in his career, he became one of the first Flemish followers of Caravaggio whom he knew personally in Naples. He produced a number of copies after works by Caravaggio. He worked for a number of years in various cities in France where he created altarpieces and portraits. He is known for being the co-owner together with his fellow Flemish painter and business partner Abraham Vinck of two paintings by Caravaggio. Louis Finson played a major role in the Northern Caravaggesque movement through his own works as well as his role as an art dealer.

Giovanni Antonio Galli, also called lo Spadarino, was an Italian Baroque artist who was a member of the Caravaggisti.

Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing professional work by the age of fifteen. In an era when women had few opportunities to pursue artistic training or work as professional artists, Gentileschi was the first woman to become a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence and she had an international clientele.

Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1563–1639) was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a Mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative schemes of other artists. After 1600, he came under the influence of the more naturalistic style of Caravaggio. He received important commissions in Fabriano and Genoa before moving to Paris to the court of Marie de Medici. He spent the last part of his life at the court of Charles I of England. He was the father of the painter Artemisia Gentileschi.

Francesco Guarino or Guarini was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in the mountainous area east of Naples called Irpinia, and in other areas of the Kingdom of Naples, chiefly Campania, Apulia, and Molise.

Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri (1589–1655) was an Italian painter and Caravaggisto.

Gerard van Honthorst was a Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickname Gherardo delle Notti. Early in his career he visited Rome, where he had great success painting in a style influenced by Caravaggio. Following his return to the Netherlands he became a leading portrait painter.

Georges de La Tour was a French Baroque painter, who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine, which was temporarily absorbed into France between 1641 and 1648. He painted mostly religious chiaroscuro scenes lit by candlelight.

Jean LeClerc was a 17th-century painter from the Duchy of Lorraine. His style was Baroque, or more specifically "tenebrist". Only six authenticated paintings remain of LeClerc’s work, but numerous etchings and engravings have survived.

Bartolomeo Manfredi was an Italian painter, a leading member of the Caravaggisti of the early 17th century.

Mario Minniti was an Italian artist active in Sicily after 1606.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children. These lively, realist portraits of flower girls, street urchins, and beggars constitute an extensive and appealing record of the everyday life of his times. He also painted two self-portraits, one in the Frick Collection portraying him in his 30s, and one in London's National Gallery portraying him about 20 years later. In 2017-2018, the two museums held an exhibition of them.

Pietro Paolini, called il Lucchese was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Working in Rome, Venice and finally his native Lucca, he was a follower of Caravaggio to whose work he responded in a very personal manner. He founded an Academy in his hometown, which formed the next generation of painters of Lucca.

Mattia Preti was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John.

Nicolas Régnier (1591–1667), known in Italy as Niccolò Renieri, was a painter, art dealer and art collector from the County of Hainaut, a French-speaking part of the Spanish Netherlands. He is often referred to as a Flemish artist because this term was often used to designate people from the Spanish Netherlands. After training in Antwerp, he was active in Italy where he was part of the international Caravaggesque movement. His subjects include genre scenes with card players, fortune tellers, soldiers and concerts, religious scenes, saints, mythological and allegorical scenes, and portraits. He also painted a few scenes with carnivals.

Francesco Ribalta , also known as Francisco Ribaltá or de Ribalta, was a Spanish painter of the Baroque period, mostly of religious subjects.

Juan Ribalta was a Spanish painter of the Baroque period. He was born and died in Valencia. His father, Francisco Ribalta, was a famous painter, active in the style of Caravaggio. Some sources said he was born in Madrid and later moved to Valencia. His mother Inés Pelayo died in 1601. Juan's works and style are similar to that of his father. He later painted Saint Sebastian at the Valencia Cathedral in 1616, later the small Adoration of the Shepherds and St. Peter, he also painted portraits including the poet Gaspar de Aguilar.

Jusepe de Ribera was a Spanish Valencian Tenebrist painter and printmaker, also known as José de Ribera and Josep de Ribera. He also was called Lo Spagnoletto by his contemporaries and early writers. Ribera was a leading painter of the Spanish school, although his mature work was all done in Italy.

Orazio Riminaldi was an Italian painter who painted mainly history subjects in a Caravaggist style.

Theodoor Rombouts was a Flemish painter who is mainly known for his Caravaggesque genre scenes depicting lively dramatic gatherings as well as religiously-themed works. He is considered to be the primary and most original representative of Flemish Caravaggism. These Caravaggisti were part of an international movement of European artists who interpreted the work of Caravaggio and the followers of Caravaggio in a personal manner.

Carlo Saraceni was an Italian early-Baroque painter, whose reputation as a "first-class painter of the second rank" was improved with the publication of a modern monograph in 1968.

Bartolomeo Schedoni was an Italian early Baroque painter from Modena.

Gerard Seghers was a Flemish painter, art collector, and art dealer. After a period of study and residence in Rome, he returned to Flanders where he became one of the leading representatives of the Flemish Caravaggisti movement. In his later career he abandoned the Caravaggist style and genre motifs to become an important painter of large altarpieces for local churches.

Carlo Sellitto was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.

Giovanni Serodine was a Swiss-Italian painter of the early Baroque period.

Leonello Spada was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Rome and his native city of Bologna, where he became known as one of the followers of Caravaggio.

Massimo Stanzione was an Italian Baroque painter, mainly active in Naples, where he and his rival Jusepe de Ribera dominated the painting scene for several decades. Most of his work, in both oils and fresco, depicted religious subjects. A papal knight, he is often referred to as Cavalliere Massimo Stanzione, especially in older sources.

Matthias Stom or Matthias Stomer was a Dutch, or possibly Flemish, painter who is only known for the works he produced during his residence in Italy. He was influenced by the work of non-Italian followers of Caravaggio in Italy, in particular his Dutch followers often referred to as the Utrecht Caravaggists, as well as by Jusepe de Ribera and Peter Paul Rubens. He did not share the other Northern Caravaggisti's preference for humorous, and sometimes scabrous, genre scenes and elaborate decorative allegories but favored stories from the bible instead. He worked in various locations in Italy where he enjoyed the patronage of religious institutions as well as prominent members of the nobility.

Nicolas Tournier was a French Baroque painter.

Giuseppe Vermiglio was a Caravaggist painter from Northern Italy, active also in Rome.

Claude Vignon was a French painter, printmaker and illustrator who worked in a wide range of genres. During a period of study in Italy, he became exposed to many new artistic currents, in particular through the works of Caravaggio and his followers, Guercino, Guido Reni and Annibale Caracci. A prolific artist, his work has remained enigmatic, contradictory and hard to define within a single term or style. His mature works are vibrantly coloured, splendidly lit and often extremely expressive. Vignon worked in a fluent technique, resulting in an almost electric brushwork. He particularly excelled in the rendering of textiles, gold and precious stones.

Simon Vouet was a French painter who studied and rose to prominence in Italy before being summoned by Louis XIII to serve as Premier peintre du Roi in France. He and his studio of artists created religious and mythological paintings, portraits, frescoes, tapestries, and massive decorative schemes for the king and for wealthy patrons, including Richelieu. During this time, "Vouet was indisputably the leading artist in Paris," and was immensely influential in introducing the Italian Baroque style of painting to France. He was also "without doubt one of the outstanding seventeenth-century draughtsmen, equal to Annibale Carracci and Lanfranco."

Peter Wtewael was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

Francisco de Zurbarán was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname "Spanish Caravaggio", owing to the forceful use of chiaroscuro in which he excelled.