Tour, Georges De La

1593-1652

 

Tour, Georges De La

Georges de la Tour was a painter, mostly of candlelit subjects, who was well known in his own time but then forgotten until well into the 20th century, when the identification of many formerly misattributed oil paintings established his modern reputation as a giant of French painting.

Georges de la Tour became a master painter and eventually settled in Lun?ville. King Louis XIII, Henry II of Lorraine, and the Duke de La Fert? were among the collectors of his oil paintings. Although the chronology of Georges de la Tour's output is uncertain, it is clear that he initially painted in a realistic manner and was influenced by the dramatic chiaroscuro of Caravaggio or his followers.

The oil paintings of La Tour's maturity, however, are marked by a startling geometric simplification of the human form and by the depiction of interior scenes lit only by the glare of candles or torches. La Tour's religious oil paintings done in this manner have a monumental simplicity and a stillness that expresses both contemplative quiet and wonder.

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