BABUREN, Dirck van
(b. ca. 1595, Wijk bij Duurstede, d. 1624, Utrecht)

The Capture of Christ with the Malchus Episode

1616-17
Oil on canvas, 125 x 95 cm
Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell'Arte Roberto Longhi, Florence

This painting is one of Baburen's rare nocturnal scenes, inspired, in part, by Caravaggio's Taking of Christ. Unlike his Utrecht compatriot Gerrit van Honthorst, who specialised in nocturnal scenes with artificial illumination, Baburen, like Caravaggio, preferred strong patterns of natural daylight.