The Paintings of Dirck van Baburen (ca. 1592/93–1624): Catalogue Raisonné(13 OCULI: Studies in the Arts of the Low Countries)

Dirck van Baburen (1592/93–1624) ranks among the most influential Dutch followers of the famous Italian painter Caravaggio. After concluding his training in his native Utrecht, Van Baburen traveled to Italy where he would remain for about eight years. The young artist enjoyed great success there, working for such major patrons as Vicenzo Giustiniani and the Spanish diplomatic representative to the Papacy, Pietro Cussida. Upon Van Baburen's return to Utrecht in late 1620, he established himself as one of that city's major painters by producing engaging work that combined innovative subject matter and appropriations of contemporary Italian art. Franits's monograph is the first major study of the artist in nearly 50 years. It consists of a lengthy introduction that explores Van Baburen's development as an artist and the reception of his work among contemporaries, followed by a comprehensive catalogue raisonné of his 42 authentic paintings, the 29 associated with the artist and/or his workshop, 152 rejected works, 18 that are lost, and lastly, 5 drawings that have been linked to Van Baburen directly or related to his paintings. Consequently, this book provides a much-needed reassessment of Van Baburen's oeuvre, addressing, for example, new pictures that have appeared on the art market in recent decades and exploring his hitherto understudied yet critical Italian period.

Table of Contents:
1. Preface; 2. Lists of Plates; 3. Abbreviations; 4. Color Plates; 5. Black - and - White Plates; 6. Comparative Illustrations; 7. Dirck van Baburen: A Caravaggist Active in Rome and Utrecht; 8. Catalogue Raisonne; 9. Introduction to the Catalogue; 10. Guide; 11. Authentic Paintings, Arranged by Subject; 12. Concordance; 13. Authentic Paintings - catalogued chronologically Paintings Attributed to Baburen and His Workshop; 14. Paintings Attributable to Van Baburen and His Workshop; 15. Paintings Attributable to Van Baburen's Workshop; 16. Paintings Attributable to the Probable Joint Workshop of Van Baburen and ter Brugghen; 17. Works of Art Formerly Attributed to, or Associated with Van Baburen, Now Rejected; 18. Lost Paintings; 19. Drawings Once Attributed to Van Baburen; 20. Paintings for Which No Definitive Judgement Can Be Made; 21. Plates and Figures; 22. Color Plates; 23. Black - and - White Plates; 24. Comparative Illustrations; 25. Bibliography; 26. Indexes; 27. Names and Paintings; 28. Present Owners; 29. Previous Owners; 30. Colophon

Review :
During his brief career in Utrecht and Rome, Dirck van Baburen (1592/93–1624) produced some of the most memorable Caravaggesque pictures of the early seventeenth century. This international movement has received widespread attention in recent decades, in major exhibitions and in monographs on the other main Dutch representatives, Hendrick ter Brugghen, Gerrit van Honthorst, and Jan van Bijlert. Now, nearly fifty years after Leonard Slatkes’s short monograph on Van Baburen appeared, Wayne Franits provides us with a revised and much more detailed biography, an expanded catalogue of pictures, and a list of about two hundred rejected works, which in itself reflects how much Van Baburen was admired in his lifetime and in later decades. The close attention to Van Baburen’s long stay in Rome (ca. 1612/13–1620) will be valuable not only for the study of Dutch art but also for that of Manfredi, Ribera, and the other key figures who transmitted and transformed Caravaggio’s manner in many parts of Europe. Dirck van Baburen has been one of the most talented painters among the Utrecht caravaggisti. Being in Rome during the 1610s he must have been overwhelmed by the enormous popularity of the paintings by Caravaggio and he became one of his fervent followers. In Italy, Van Baburen received several important commissions, which may have prolonged his stay there. About 1620 he returned to Utrecht where he died in February 1624, just over thirty years old. The artistic legacy of Van Baburen is not large, yet impressive. His vibrant and colourful painterly style is paired to a highly sensitive display of emotions, as well as in history paintings as in genre scenes. In this book Wayne Franits provides a most welcome overview of the art of Dirck van Baburen. This is followed by an exhaustive catalogue raisonné.