The Story Behind these De La Tour Prints

De la Tour (1593 – 1652) was a baroque painter from France during the 17th century. He was known as the ‘candlelight painter’ and used angles of luminosity to depict depths of colour and perspective in his paintings. There are limited recordings of his early life and training, and it is unclear whether he spent time in Italy, though he was certainly influenced by the chiaroscuro technique used by Caravaggio.

He painted many night-time scenes, using a single point of light to illuminate the poignancy and intimate contemplation in the faces of his subjects. De La Tour's art print style focuses on portraits that illustrate moments of introspection and deep thought.

Although he was relatively successful during his lifetime, his work was almost forgotten after his death and didn’t return to public awareness until the 20th century. It was common during his era not to sign artwork, so many of the De La Tour art prints had been lost until they began being rediscovered in 1915 by art historians.