Musical Group by Candlelight

A silver candlestick stands on a table that is laden with tasty treats for a merry evening of music. Three figures are shown singing from a sheet of music while a fourth partici-pant is playing the lute. The sheet music covers the can-dle, but we are left in no doubt that it is there, for it is the only source of light in the scene. At the age of 24 (in 1616) Hon-thorst was in the church Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome, copying Caravaggio’s large altarpiece depicting the Crucifixion of Saint Peter. Honthorst soon mastered the Caravaggian nocturnal scenes with their dramatic lighting, earning him the nickname ‘Gherardo delle Notti’ (Gerhard of the Nights). Honthorst returned to his na-tive Utrecht in 1620, where he set up a large workshop with many students. Their number included Matthias Stom and Gerard van Kuijl.