The Paintings of Hendrick Ter Brugghen, 1588-1629

Book excerpt: The Paintings of Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588-1629), is the first major study of this important early seventeenth-century master since Benedict Nicolson's classic monograph of 1958. It comprises two chapters that explore ter Brugghen's development as an artist and the reception of his work among contemporaries, followed by a truly monumental catalogue raisonné of ter Brugghen's 89 authentic paintings, 54 pictures associated with the artist and/or his workshop, 141 rejected works, 42 lost works, and lastly, 10 drawings that have been linked to ter Brugghen directly or related to his paintings. Already celebrated during his lifetime, and avidly collected by elite cognescenti in the Dutch Republic and abroad, ter Brugghen executed a dazzling variety of paintings, ranging from Bible subjects and saints, to fascinating mythological images, as well as scenes of daily life, including musicians. Although his knowledge of paintings by Caravaggio that he had seen during his early sojourn in Rome always remained acute, these experiences were continually tempered by his awareness of older Northern European artistic traditions and conventions, with the result that ter Brugghen created pictures whose subject matter and style are fascinating, and at times, unique. Until his untimely death in August of 2003, Leonard J. Slatkes was Distinguished Professor of Art History at Queens College of the City University of New York, NY. He was an internationally renowned expert on the art of the Dutch Caravaggisti, to whom he had devoted many essays, books, and exhibition catalogues. Slatkes had begun conducting research on ter Brugghen's paintings in the 1960's, with the expectation of eventually publishing a new monograph on the artist. Wayne Franits, a former student of Slatkes's, is currently Professor of Fine Arts at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. He has authored numerous publications on seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish art.