Il figliol prodigo

Gerard van Honthorst had just come home to Utrecht from years in Italy, where his mastery of candlelit night scenes had earned him the nickname Gherardo delle Notti, Gerard of the nights. This crowded tavern from 1622 shows off exactly that skill, the whole room lit by a single candle an old woman shields with her hand. A later inventory attached the title The Prodigal Son to it, but there is no clear biblical scene here, just eating, drinking and music. It may record something closer to home, a celebration of Honthorst's own return, and the man in blue at the centre is often taken for the painter himself. Around this time he married Sophia Coopman, and her father kept a tavern.