About the Artist

The name of Georges de La Tour (1593 Vic-sur-Seille-1652 Luneville) first appears in 1618 on the occasion of his marriage in the city of Luneville in Lorraine. He worked for the Duke of Lorraine and the French king Louis XIV (1638-1715), under whom he advanced to the position of official court painter. La Tour's style of painting suggests that he probably had traveled to the Netherlands and Italy. His surviving oeuvre numbers less than 20 religious, historical and genre "night" paintings that were only rediscoverd at the beginning of the 20th century. His compositions consist of a few large figures placed in the immediate foreground and defined by strongly contrasted light and shadow, a style which reflects the influence of Caravaggio and Utrecht Caravaggisti. His works include The Organ Grinder, c. 1625, Musee des Beaux-Arts, Nantes; St. Jerome, c. 1630, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm and the Tears of St. Peter, 1645, Museum of Art, Cleveland.