Hendrick Jansz ter Brugghen (or Terbrugghen) (1588 – 1 November 1629) was a Dutch painter of genre scenes and religious subjects. He was one of the Dutch followers of

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of h ...

– the so-called ''

Utrecht Caravaggisti Utrecht Caravaggism ( nl, Utrechtse caravaggisten) 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 infl ...

''. Along with Gerrit van Hondhorst and

Dirck van Baburen Dirck Jaspersz. van Baburen (c. 1595 – 21 February 1624) was a Dutch painter and one of the Utrecht Caravaggisti. Biography Dirck van Baburen was probably born in Wijk bij Duurstede, but his family moved to Utrecht when he was still young ...

, Ter Brugghen was one of the most important Dutch painters to have been influenced by Caravaggio.

Biography

No references to Ter Brugghen written during his life have been identified. His father Jan Egbertsz ter Brugghen, originally from

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the Episcopal principality of U ...

, had moved to Utrecht, where he was appointed secretary to the Court of Utrecht by the Prince of Orange,

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

. He had been married to Sophia Dircx. In 1588, he became bailiff to the Provincial Council of Holland in The Hague, where Hendrick was born. The earliest brief reference to the painter is in ''

Het Gulden Cabinet ''Het Gulden Cabinet vande Edel Vry Schilder-Const'' or ''The Golden Cabinet of the Noble Liberal Art of Painting'' is a book by the 17th-century Flemish notary and ''rederijker'' Cornelis de Bie published in Antwerp. Written in the Dutch langu ...

'' (1661) of

Cornelis de Bie Cornelis de Bie (10 February 1627 – ) was a Flemish ''rederijker'', poet, jurist and minor politician from Lier. He is the author of about 64 works, mostly comedies. He is known internationally today for his biographical sketches of Flemish a ...

, where he is mistakenly referred to as ''Verbrugghen''. Another short account is found in the '' Teutsche Academie'' (1675) by

Joachim von Sandrart Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the '' T ...

, where he is referred to as ''Verbrug''. Here we learn that he studied with

Abraham Bloemaert Abraham Bloemaert (25 December 1566 – 27 January 1651) was a Dutch painter and printmaker in etching and engraving. He was initially working in the style of the " Haarlem Mannerists", but in the 16th century altered his style in line with the ...

, a

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

painter. Sandrart also refers to the painter's "tiefsinnige, jedoch, schwermütige Gedanken in seinen Werken" rofound, but melancholic thoughts in his works From this unsure footing, the artist's son Richard ter Brugghen sought to rehabilitate his father's reputation as a painter in the early 18th century. He secured a letter, dated 15 April 1707, from

Adriaen van der Werff Adriaen van der Werff (21 January 1659 – 12 November 1722) was a Dutch painter of portraits and erotic, devotional and mythological scenes. His brother, Pieter van der Werff (1661–1722), was his principal pupil and assistant. Life At the a ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

, attesting to his appreciation of Hendrick's work. Later that year, on 5 August 1707, Richard presented the government council of

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, ...

with four paintings of the ''Evangelists'', to be hung in the Town Hall as a permanent memorial to his father. An engraving, in all likelihood commissioned by Richard ter Brugghen from Pieter Bodart, and based on an earlier drawing by

Gerard Hoet Gerard Hoet (; 22 August 1648 – 2 December 1733) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver. Biography Gerard Hoet trained with his father and brother who were glass painters, and Warnard van Rijsen, who lived in Zaltbommel, and who h ...

, was put about in 1708. It shows an idealised portrait of Hendrick, the family coat-of-arms, and a printed caption translated from the Dutch as:

Born in Overijsel in 1588, travelled from Utrecht to Rome, and ten years later returned to Utrecht, married there, lived there interruptedly, and died at the age of 42 on 1st Nov. 1629; he was a great and famous history painter from life, painting life-size figures in the Italian manner, so very superior to all others that the famous P. P. Rubens on travelling through the Netherlands declared on coming to Utrecht that he had found only one painter, namely Henricus ter Brugghen. G. Hoet del. P. Bodart, fec.

Cornelis de Bie, in his ''Spiegel vande Verdrayde Werelt'' (1708), and

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadtwisting'' (Twyndraat) ...

, in his '' De Groote Schouburgh'' (1718-1721), produced biographies where they repeated Richard's claims that the painter met Rubens in Rome and also worked in Naples. There was a cadet of the same name serving in the army of

Ernst Casimir Ernest Casimir I (22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632) was a Count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography He was the 11th child of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and Countess Elisabeth of Leuch ...

of Nassau-Dietz in the spring of 1607, and for this reason, Ter Brugghen is thought to have been in Italy, but only in that year, rather than as previously believed in 1604 (inferred as it was from the inscription on the Bodart print). This would certainly mean that he never met Caravaggio in Rome; that artist had fled Rome on a murder charge in 1606. However, it is certain that he was the only Dutch painter in Rome during Caravaggio's lifetime. By 1614, Ter Brugghen was in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, on his way home. On 1 April 1615, Thyman van Galen and Ter Brugghen are witnesses before the court in Utrecht. He is already listed as a member of the Utrecht painter's guild in 1616, and on 15 October of that year he married Jacomijna Verbeeck, his elder brother Jan's stepdaughter. Ter Brugghen died in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

on 1 November 1629, possibly a victim of the plague. The family had been living in the Snippenvlucht. Ter Brugghen's last child of eight, Hennickgen, was born four months later on 14 March 1630.

Work and impact

He certainly studied Caravaggio's work, as well as that of his followers–the Italian ''Caravaggisti''–such as

Orazio Gentileschi 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 ...

. Caravaggio's work had caused quite a sensation in Italy. His paintings were characteristic for their bold

tenebroso Tenebrism, from Italian ' ("dark, gloomy, mysterious"), also occasionally called dramatic illumination, is a style of painting using especially pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness become ...

technique–the contrast produced by clear, bright surfaces alongside sombre, dark sections–but also for the social realism of the subjects, sometimes charming, sometimes shocking or downright vulgar. Other Italian painters who had an influence on Ter Brugghen during his stay in Italy were

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of t ...

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoem ...

and

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religi ...

. Upon returning to Utrecht, he worked with

Gerard van Honthorst Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch: ''Gerrit van Honthorst''; 4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickname ''Gherardo delle Notti ...

, another of the Dutch Caravaggisti. Ter Brugghen's favourite subjects were half-length figures of drinkers or musicians, but he also produced larger-scale religious images and group portraits. He carried with him Caravaggio's influence, and his paintings have a strong dramatic use of light and shadow, as well as emotionally charged subjects. His treatment of religious subjects can be seen reflected in the work of

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally cons ...

, and elements of his style can also be found in the paintings of

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century grou ...

and

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradit ...

described ter Brugghen's work as "...above that of all the other Utrecht artists".

Selected works

Works include: *'' Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene'' (1625) *'' The Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John'', (c. 1625) *'' The Denial of St. Peter'' (1628) File:Hendrik ter Brugghen - De aanbidding der koningen.jpg, ''The Adoration of the Magi'' (1619), 132.5 x 160.5 cm,

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

File:Brugghen, Hendrick ter - The Calling of St. Matthew - 1621.jpg, ''The Calling of St. Matthew'' (1621), 102 × 137 cm,

Centraal Museum The Centraal Museum is the main museum in Utrecht, Netherlands, founded in 1838. The museum has a wide-ranging collection, mainly of works produced locally. The collection of the paintings by the Northern Mannerist Joachim Wtewael is by a lon ...

File:David Saluted by the Israelite Women (1623) Ter Brugghen.jpg, ''David Saluted by the Israelite Women'' (1623),

North Carolina Museum of Art The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is an art museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It opened in 1956 as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding. Since the initial 1947 appropriation that ...

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

File:Hendrick ter Brugghen - Unequal Couple - WGA22185.jpg, ''Unequal Couple'', c. 1623 File:Les Joueurs de cartes.JPG, ''The Card Players'', 1623 File:Hendrick ter Brugghen 004.jpg, ''The Liberation of Peter'' (1624), 104.5 × 86.5 cm, Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis,

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

File:Hendrick ter Brugghen - The Annunciation - WGA22160.jpg, ''The Annunciation'' (1624), 134 x 85 cm, Whitfield Fine Art, London,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

File:Hendrick ter Brugghen The Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John.jpg, '' The Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John'', (c. 1625), 154.9 x 102.2 cm,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, New York City File:Terbrugghen Sebastian.jpg, '' Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene'' (1625), 149 x 119.4 cm,

Allen Memorial Art Museum The Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) is an art museum located in Oberlin, Ohio, and it is run by Oberlin College. Founded in 1917, the collection contains over 15,000 works of art. Overview The AMAM is primarily a teaching museum and is aimed a ...

, Oberlin File:Brugghen King David.jpg, ''King David Playing the Harp'',

Warsaw National Museum The National Museum in Warsaw ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie), popularly abbreviated as MNW, is a national museum in Warsaw, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in the capital. It comprises a rich collection of ancient art ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

File:Hendrick ter Brugghen - Esau Selling His Birthright - WGA22163.jpg, ''Esau Selling His Birthright'' (1625), 84.9 x 116.3 cm,

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin The Gemäldegalerie (, ''Painting Gallery'') is an art museum in Berlin, Germany, and the museum where the main selection of paintings belonging to the Berlin State Museums (''Staatliche Museen zu Berlin'') is displayed. It was first opened in ...

File:Hendrick ter Brugghen - Jacob Reproaching Laban - WGA22181.jpg, ''Jacob Reproaching Laban'' (1627),

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director of ...

File:The Concert (1627) by Hendrick ter Brugghen.jpg, ''The Concert'' (1627), 99.1 x 116.8 cm, National Gallery, London File:'A Laughing Bravo with his Dog' by Hendrick ter Brugghen, 1628.jpg, ''A Laughing Bravo with his Dog'' (1628) File:Hendrick ter Brugghen The Denial of St Peter.jpg, '' The Denial of St. Peter'' (1628), 132.3 x 178 cm,

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

File:Hendrick ter Brugghen - Mars Asleep - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Mars Asleep'' (1629), 152 x 140 cm,

, Utrecht File:Hendrick Brugghen - Christ Crowned with Thorns (Kristi Tornekroning) - c 1620 - National Gallery of Denmark.jpg, '' Christ Crowned with Thorns'' (1620), 207 x 240 cm, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

References

External links

* *
Works at WGAWorks and literature
at PubHist
Whitfield Fine Art, Londonwww.hendrickbrugghen.org
Images by Hendrick ter Brugghen
Did Hendrick ter Brugghen revisit Italy? Notes from an unknown manuscript by Cornelis de BieVermeer and The Delft School
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Hendrick ter Brugghen
Dutch and Flemish paintings from the Hermitage
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Brugghen (cat. no. 6) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brugghen, Hendrick Ter 1588 births 1629 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Artists from Utrecht Caravaggisti Artists from The Hague