Gerard van Honthorst, the uncrowned emperor of the use of light

During the summer of  2026, the Centraal Museum in Utrecht presents the first major retrospective exhibition on Gerard van Honthorst (1592–1656). The Utrecht painter Gerard van Honthorst is the uncrowned master of the use of light effects. He drew inspiration from Caravaggio’s use of light, creating a unique, refined version of his own. He was the most famous and wealthiest painter of his time and an example and inspiration to contemporaries such as Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer. Both Rembrandt and van honthorst got the assignment to paint Amalia van Somst. Rembrandt painted her as she looked; Van Honthorst created a more beautiful, flattered version of her.