Boy with a Torch

c. 1610 – 1620

At the palace of Marquis Giustiniani in Rome

In Rome Honthorst lodged at the palace of Marquis Vincenzo Giustiniani, where he painted “Christ Before the High Priest” (now in the National Gallery, London), and under Caravaggio's influence took up night scenes lit by a hidden artificial source. Italian documents of his day call him “Gherardo Fiammingo” or “Gherardo Hollandese”: the nickname “Gherardo delle Notti” came into use only in the 18th century.

c. 1610 – 1620

Commissions from Cardinal Scipione Borghese

Cardinal Scipione Borghese became another important patron, securing him commissions at San Silvestro in Monte Compatri and Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. The artist also worked for Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.

1620

Returns to Utrecht

Back in Utrecht, Honthorst built a considerable reputation at home and abroad: Sir Dudley Carleton, the English envoy at The Hague, recommended his work to the Earl of Arundel, and his work impressed the young Rembrandt and Frans Hals.

1622

The Guild of St. Luke and a drawing academy

Honthorst was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke and the same year opened a drawing academy in Utrecht, in fact a small studio for visiting pupils. According to Joachim von Sandrart, his pupil in the mid-1620s, the master taught about 24 students at a time, each paying 100 guilders a year.

1623

Marries and heads the Guild of St. Luke

In the year of his marriage Honthorst was president of the Guild of St. Luke in Utrecht.