History of World Art II: Day 53 - Georges de La Tour

Georges de La Tour (1593 –1652), was a French painter, and what differs about him is that he lived in a Catholic area and the majority of his work was religious. He spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine, which was absorbed into France late in his life between in 1641 and 1648. Most of his scenes are lit by candlelight and have very deep shadows and dark moody feel that are devoid of the iconography previously used in religious painting (no halos, figures aren’t idealized). After his death his work was not recognized, when finally after centuries of obscurity, he became recognized in the 20th century. He is now thought of as the most highly regarded French 17th-century Baroque artists.

He seems to have studied the Dutch and Italian painters quite closely, as his scenes use chiaroscuro method of lighting against a dark background, so popular during this time. He also paints snap-shot moments of life in France. It says in our text that he most likely learned about Caravaggio (and thus the techniques of lighting - chiaroscuro - Caravaggio used) from the Dutch school of Utrecht. The differences between his painting and the painting of those from the North, is that he used the devices (strong light with deep contrasts, images of regular people, scenes set against very dark backgrounds) for different subject matter then the painters in the North; to set religious scenes. Although, in looking at his work he did do many genre scenes, like his Northern counterparts.