Which Baroque painter from Utrecht was known for his candlelit scenes?

Gerrit van Honthorst was the Baroque painter from Utrecht known for candlelit scenes. His dramatic compositions often place a single candle or other concealed light source at the center of a dark interior, illuminating faces, hands, and fabrics with theatrical force.

Born in Utrecht in 1592, Honthorst traveled to Rome, where he studied the work of Caravaggio and encountered the art of Caravaggio’s followers. Italian observers called him Gherardo delle Notti, or “Gerrit of the Nights,” because of his fascination with nocturnal scenes. He brought this tenebrist style back to the Netherlands.

Honthorst belonged to the Utrecht Caravaggisti, alongside Hendrick ter Brugghen and Dirck van Baburen. Those artists share strong contrasts of light and shadow, but the candlelit-night association is especially characteristic of Honthorst. Jan van Bijlert was another Utrecht Caravaggist, yet he is not the canonical answer to this clue.