Portrait of Carel Fabritius

Carel Fabritius Painting Reproductions 1 of 1

1622-1654

Dutch Baroque Painter

Carel Fabritius (bapt. Feb 27, 1622, Middenbeemster - Oct 12, 1654, Delft) was a Dutch painter and one of Rembrandt's most gifted pupils.

Fabritius was born in the ten-year old Beemster polder, where he is thought to have worked as a carpenter. In the early 1640s he studied at Rembrandt's studio in Amsterdam, along with his brother Barent Fabritius. In the early 1650s he moved to Delft, and joined the Delft painters' guild in 1652. He died young, caught in the explosion of the Delft gunpowder magazine on October 12, 1654, which destroyed a quarter of the city, along with his studio and many of his paintings. Only about a dozen paintings have survived.

Of all Rembrandt's pupils, Fabritius was the only one to develop his own artistic style. A typical Rembrandt portrait would have a plain dark background with the subject defined by spotlighting. In contrast, Fabritius' portraits feature delicately lit subjects against light-coloured, textured backgrounds. Moving away from the Renaissance focus on iconography, Fabritius became interested in the technical aspects of painting. He used cool colour harmonies to create shape in a luminous style of painting.

Fabritius was also interested in complex spatial effects, as can be seen in the exaggerated perspective of A View in Delft, with a Musical Instrument Seller's Stall (1652). He also showed excellent control of a heavily loaded brush, as in The Goldfinch (1654). All these qualities appear in the work of Delft's most famous painters, Vermeer and de Hooch; it is likely that Fabritius was a strong influence on them.

3 Carel Fabritius Paintings

The Goldfinch, 1654 by Carel Fabritius | Painting Reproduction

The Goldfinch 1654

Oil Painting
$381
Canvas Print
$49.87
SKU: FCA-3379
Carel Fabritius
Original Size: 33.5 x 22.8 cm
Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands

The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, c.1640/45 by Carel Fabritius | Painting Reproduction

The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist c.1640/45

Oil Painting
$1912
Canvas Print
$60.74
SKU: FCA-3380
Carel Fabritius
Original Size: 149 x 121 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Sentry, 1654 by Carel Fabritius | Painting Reproduction

The Sentry 1654

Oil Painting
$776
Canvas Print
$64.45
SKU: FCA-3381
Carel Fabritius
Original Size: 67 x 58 cm
Staatliche Museum, Schwerin, Germany

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