Brief Biography-Gerard van Honthorst was born in Utrecht, where he was a disciple of Abraham Bloemaert. After studying in Rome and painting religious works, his style became markedly Caravaggesque,and he later became known as Gerardo Dalla Notti or Painter of the Night. He succeeded in Utrecht as a portraitist, and in 1623 he was elected dean of the Guild of Saint Luke. Honthorst tutored the children of Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, who introduced him to Charles I. The King engaged him with numerous commissions in England and afterwards granted him three thousand florins, a plate service for twelve persons and a splendid horse. In Holland, he decorated the palace of the Hague, and the King of Denmark commissioned him to undertake a series of Danish historical works. Finally, He kept a large studio in The Hague with many students, Joachim Sandrart being his most notable one. Honthorst settled in Utrecht, later only painting portraits. His younger brother Willem was also a painter tutored by Bloemaert, who worked with Gerard; some of his paintings passed as works by Gerard.