Hendrick Ter Brugghen was born in Deventer in 1588 and was one of the major Dutch painters who worked under the clear influence of Caravaggio. A pupil of Abraham Bloemaert, he visited Italy where he stayed between 1604 and 1614. It was there that he discovered the paintings of Caravaggio which influenced him so much. However, Ter Brugghen left no trace of his stay in Italy as his first known works date from 1620. They are much imbued with contrasting light effects which accentuate the features of his sitters.
Ter Brugghen then simplified his forms and appeared more serene in his works after probably studying the works of Gentileschi. During the early 1620's he painted «The Vocation of Saint Matthew», now in the Utrecht Museum, «The Four Evangelists» (in the Deventer Museum) and «The Flute players» (In the Museum of Kassel).
His touch became more fluid and lighter and smoother with more monochromatic tones such as in his «Saint Sebastian» of 1625 (Oberlin Museum).
After 1627, «The Drinker» (Augsburg Museum), «The Woman singer» (Basel Museum) or «The Concert», in the Louvre Museum were luminous interior scenes with still lifes enriching these paintings. At that time, Ter Brugghen was painting in a style reminiscent of that of La Tour regarding themes and feelings expressed in his works. The works of Ter Brugghen, who died in 1629, are rated between US $ 60,000 and over 125,000.
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