The Death of Brutus

Matthias Stomer was born in Amersfoort in around 1600. In his mid-twenties he moved to nearby Utrecht, where he entered the studio of Honthorst, a leading Caravaggesque painter of the time. Following his apprenticeship with Honthorst, Stomer travelled to Antwerp and then to Italy, remaining there for the duration of his career. He is first documented in Rome when his name appears in the register of the Parish of San Nicola in Arcione from 1630 to 1632 as 'signor Mattheo Sthorm, fiamingo pittore'. It was in Naples that Stomer first established himself as an accomplished follower of Caravaggio. He was noted in particular as a painter of night scenes, as remarked upon in a later seventeenth-century text:

Molti dipinti ed attioni di notte, stimata opera di Matteo Tamar Fiamenghi, il quale per ispendere il giorno con gli amici, ed a ricreationi si reduceva di dipingere nele noti, in modo que uasi tutte l'opere que sono in questa maniera.

The impressive dimensions of Stomer's history paintings from this period attest to the lavish patronage he received from the Neapolitans.
By 1641 Stomer had moved to Sicily, where he worked in Palermo and Messina. In choosing this itinerary Stomer followed that of his mentor Caravaggio, who had worked briefly in both these cities after his infamous flight from Rome in 1606. Throughout the remainder of his career, Stomer was extremely successful, perpetuating the legacy of Caravaggio whose brief presence in the south had made such a lasting impression.