The Card Party. 17th Century Nordic Caravaggio Painter.

Workshop of Wouter Pietersz. Crabeth II (Gouda, 1594 – id., June 18, 1644) Oil on oak panel (2 attached boards) Very beautiful 17th century period frame in carved and gilded wood, model called flowered corners Total dimensions with the frame: 64 x 74cm. The panel: 45 x 55 cm. The subject of the game of cards, as an erotic metaphor, is rooted in the North European tradition. The action takes place in a brothel. In a tight frame, with strong contrasts between light and color, the painter draws us into the action and, like an attentive observer, shows us the glances exchanged, the arrangement of the cards on the table and the sensuality of the young woman at the bare chest that will allow him to divert attention and win the game thanks to the complicity of the servant. Wouter Pietersz. Crabeth II is a Dutch painter (United Provinces) of the Golden Age. Son of Alderman and Mayor Pieter Woutersz. Crabeth, he apprenticed with Cornelis Ketel, It is possible that he was also a pupil of Abraham Bloemaert in Utrecht. Around 1613, Crabeth, passing through France (to Paris in 1615 and to Aix-en-Provence the following year), traveled to Italy, where he lived for a few years from 1619 in Rome. There he became a member of the Bentvueghels, along with other fellow painters. In 1626, he returned home to Gouda after having immersed himself in the works of Caravaggio. This beautiful Dutch painting is what is called a northern Caravaggio school, "During the first decade of the 17th century, Nordic painters made the trip to Rome, which had become traditional for all artists from Western Europe wishing to escaping provincialism, that is to say backward mannerism. Utrecht, city in the south of the Netherlands, where painters like Hendrick Ter Brugghen (1588-1629), Gerrit von Honthorst (1590-1656), Dirck van Baburen (1570-1624) and Jan van Bijlert (1598-1671) report of Rome the revolutionary art of Caravaggio (circa 1571-1610), was to become the center of a new school and a new style, where the fusion of Caravaggism and the Nordic spirit took place, which inspired the whole great Dutch painting (apart from Rembrandt). » Very good state of conservation. Sold with invoice & certificate