La Tour, Georges de

(1593-1652)

   painter

   Born in Vic-sur-Seille, Georges La Tour, who is known for his religious and genre paintings, especially scenes set at night, was for a long period forgotten. There was a renewed interest in him and his work, however, around 1900. Nonetheless, most of his life and also the chronology of his paintings remain obscure or uncertain. La Tour was born into a family of bakers and probably was educated at Nancy and Lunéville, where he became familiar with the work of other artists. He most likely traveled to italy between 1610 and 1616, and his work reflects the influence of Caravaggio. He went to the Netherlands, too, where he was influenced by the utrecht school of painting. in 1620, La Tour became the painter for the town of Lunéville and, in 1639, settled in Paris. King louis x III admired La Tour's painting Saint Sébastien pleuré par Irène and made him one of the king's painters. La Tour's works soon became popular. Certain details of his life indicate that, although he painted religious themes, he was personally an opportunistic and unkind individual. La Tour's paintings, whether religious or genre, if set at night were characterized by dramatic lighting effects, with strong colors illuminated by the light of a single candle (La Madeleine à la vieilleuse; Les Mangeurs de pois (certainly his earliest work); Rixe de musiciens, ca. 1625-30; Le Tricheur à l'as de trèfle, ca. 1625-30; La Deseuse de bonne aventure, ca. 1632-35; La Tricheur à l'as de carreau, ca. 1635). La Tour's paintings exhibit, besides the exquisite use of candlelight illumination, great attention to detail, and he is characterized also by balanced composition, simplified volumetric shape, and a precise, uncluttered realism. All of La Tour's works reflect the classicism of 17th-century art.