Hendrick Terbrugghen was born in 1588 in Hague, Netherlands, into a Catholic family. His father Jan Egbertsz ter Brugghen, originally from Overijssel, had moved to Utrecht, where he was appointed secretary to the Court of Utrecht by the Prince of Orange, William the Silent. He had been married to Sophia Dircx. In 1588 he became bailiff to the Provincial Council of Holland in The Hague, where Hendrick was born.
Hendrick Ter Brugghen began to study painting at the age of thirteen, possibly in the studio of Abraham Bloemart.
Hendrick spent about a decade in Rome in 1604 - 1614. On his return to the Netherlands, he became with Honthorst the leader of Caravaggism associated with the Utrecht school. The earliest dated work by Ter Brugghen is from 1616. A second journey to Italy in 1620 has been postulated, as his later works are generally more thoroughly Caravaggesque than his earlier ones.
Terbrugghen was chiefly a religious painter, but he also produced some remarkable genre works, notably a pair of "Flute Players" in 1621, which in their subtle tonality - with dark figures placed against a light background - anticipated by a generation the achievement of painters of the Delft school such as Fabritius and Vermeer. Although he was praised by Rubens, who visited Utrecht in 1627, Terbrugghen was neglected by 18th- and 19th-century collectors and historians. The rediscovery of his sensitive and poetic paintings has been part of the reappraisal of Caravaggesque art during the 20th century.
Upon returning to Utrecht, he worked with Gerrit van Honthorst, another of the Dutch Caravaggisti. Ter Brugghen's favourite subjects were half-length figures of drinkers or musicians, but he also produced larger-scale religious images and group portraits. Even though he died young, his work was well received and had great influence on others. His treatment of religious subjects can be seen reflected in the work of Rembrandt, and elements of his style can also be found in the paintings of Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. Ter Brugghen died in Utrecht in 1629.
Ter Brugghen and his followers became known as the Caravaggisti because he adopted Caravaggio's strong sense of light, dramatic contrast between light and dark, and focus on emotionally charged subject matter. As a leader of the Caravaggisti,Ter Brugghen's paintings were in high demand and he received consistent commissions from both public and private sources.
The Singing Lute Player
Jacob Reproaching Laban
Democritus
Bagpipe Player
The Calling of St. Matthew
A Luteplayer Carousing With A Young Woman Holding A Roemer
The Concert
Leda and the Swan
Singing Boy
Boy Lighting a Pipe
The Mocking of Christ
The Crucifixion With The Virgin And St. John
A Laughing Bravo with a Bass Viol and a Glass
Jacob Reproaching Laban
The Deliverance of St. Peter
The Concert
Esau Selling His Birthright
Heraclitus
The Calling of St. Matthew
Boy Playing a Recorder
The Concert
The incredulity of St. Thomas
The Adoration of the Magi
The Calling of St. Matthew
Woman Playing the Lute
St. Sebastian Tended by Irene and her Maid
Supper at Emmaus
Boy Playing a Fife
The Annunciation
Unequal Couple
Duet
His paintings had a strong dramatic use of light and shadow, as well as emotionally charged subjects.
Hendrick was married to Jacomijna Verbeeck and had a son Richard ter Brugghen. Ter Brugghen's last child of eight, Hennickgen, was born on March 14, 1630.
