Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588-1629) went to Italy at the age of fifteen, following an apprenticeship in Utrecht under Abraham Bloemaert, a painter of history scenes. In Rome, Ter Brugghen saw pictures by Caravaggio, who was still working at the time. He was fascinated by the latter’s dramatic light and shade effects and his use of ordinary people as models. Some ten years later, he returned to the Republic a confirmed Caravaggist, working closely with Dirck van Baburen for several years in the same style. Ter Brugghen painted genre scenes of musicians and drinkers, as well as biblical and mythological scenes. The earliest dated work by Ter Brugghen is from 1616. Like fellow Caravaggists Van Baburen and Gerard van Honthorst, he perfected the art of chiaroscuro and realistic depiction.
