Matthias Stom

The Adoration of the Shepherds, ca. 1635-40, oil on canvas, North Carolina Museum of Art

Young man reading by candlelight by Matthias Stom

Matthias Stom or Matthias Stomer (c. 1600 – after 1652) was a Dutch golden age painter considered one of the masters of Utrecht Caravaggism. Other variants of his name are Matthias Stohom or Stomma, Matheo Schem and Matteo Tomar. Stom spent most of his artistic life in Italy, and 200 of his works have been preserved.

Life

It is conjectured that Stom was born at Amersfoort or in the Utrecht area, but many details of his life are vague. An early mention of Stom was around 1630, when he lived in the same location as Paulus Bor had lived a few years earlier. He was a pupil of Gerard van Honthorst in Rome after 1615.^[1]

He remained in Rome until 1632, after which he traveled to Naples, where he stayed until 1640. He then moved to Palermo, and delivered paintings for churches in Caccamo and Monreale. He sold three paintings to Antonio Ruffo, duke of Messina.^[1] It is speculated that he died in Sicily, or alternatively in Northern Italy, where in 1652 he painted an altar piece for the church in Chiuduno.^[2]

His son or grandson, Mattia (il giovane) Stomer (1649–1702), also was a painter.^[3]

Style

Stom was influenced by the Baroque painter Caravaggio and his followers, utilizing their mastery of chiaroscuro. His work typically features religious scenes.^[4] He is appreciated for his psychology and noted for his "distinctive claylike treatment of flesh".^[5]

Gallery

• Matthias Stom
• 

  Tobias

• 

  Hieromymus, Musée des beaux-arts de Nantes

• 

  Christ Crowned with Thorns by Matthias Stom

• 

  Esau and Jakob

• 

  Esau and Jacob II

• 

  Thomas

• 

  Markus

• 

  Sara showing in Hagar to Abraham

• 

  The Annunciation

• 

  Emmaus

• 

  Gaius Mucius Scaevola in the Presence of Lars Porsena, oil on canvas, early 1640s, Art Gallery of New South Wales

• 

  Christ before Caiaphas, depiction of the Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, oil on canvas, Milwaukee Art Museum

References

1. "Old Woman Praying". Metropolitan Museum. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
2. Liedtke, W. (2007). Dutch paintings in the Metropolitan Museum. p. 848.
3. "Matthias Stom at the Netherlands Institute for Art History". Retrieved 2010-06-08.
4. "Stomer at University of North Carolina Artists Profile". Retrieved 2008-01-28.
5. "Encyclopedia.com". Retrieved 2010-06-08.

External links

• Works at WGA
• Dutch and Flemish paintings from the Hermitage, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Stom (cat. no. 31)