Matthias Stom

Matthias Stom (1600–1660) was probably born at Amersfoort in the Netherlands and died in Sicily. Almost nothing is documented about his training, and even his name appears in several forms — Stom, Stomer — which is characteristic of how much remains uncertain about him. What is clear is the work. He belongs to the northern painters who absorbed Caravaggio's manner, and he pushed one element of it further than most: the single artificial light source, usually a candle or torch held within the scene, throwing hands and faces into sharp relief against near-total darkness. He worked in Rome and then in southern Italy, and the bulk of his surviving output is religious. Four works here, including Ecce Homo, the Annunciation, and Pontius Pilate Washing His Hands of the Blood of Christ.