UTRECHT CARAVAGGISTS

   A group of Dutch artists who were active in the city of Utrecht in the early decades of the 17th century. Most went to Rome where they were exposed to the style of Caravaggio, and then brought this visual vocabulary back to Utrecht, making it available to other Dutch masters. The most notable figures among the Utrecht Caravaggists are Dirck van Baburen, Hendrick Terbrugghen, and Gerrit van Honthorst. All three painted mainly religious scenes while in Italy, and changed to genre upon returning to the North as the demand for religious images in the Dutch market diminished after the region embraced Protestantism.