Gerard van Honthorst, or Gherardo della Notte (1592 - 1656),

• Was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
• Van Honthorst was born in Utrecht, the son of a decorative painter.
• He trained under his father, and then under Abraham Bloemaert.
• 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.
• His brother Willem van Honthorst was also a portrait painter.
• Honthorst would have about 24 students, each paying 100 guilders a year for their education.
• The displayed painting is a crop from: Musical Group on a Balcony, 1622.
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