Georges de La Tour
French·1593–1652
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Baroque painter Georges de La Tour (1593-1652) created some of the most hauntingly beautiful nocturnal scenes in art history. Working in Lorraine, France, he developed a distinctive style showing figures illuminated by a single candle or torch, transforming ordinary moments into meditations on light and spirituality. His geometric simplification of human forms and mastery of chiaroscuro place him among the great Caravaggist painters, though he never traveled to Italy. Works like "The Newborn" and "St. Joseph the Carpenter" radiate an otherworldly calm.
Born in Vic-sur-Seille, possibly the son of a baker, La Tour married into minor nobility in 1617 and established himself in Lunéville. He earned the title "Painter to the King" in 1638, serving Louis XIII. After his death in a 1652 epidemic, his work was completely forgotten until German art historian Hermann Voss rediscovered him in 1915. Some paintings had even been confused with Vermeer's work. Today he's recognized as one of the finest French painters of the 17th century. His paintings hang at the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Prado, and the National Gallery of Art.
Notable Works by Georges de La Tour
4 paintings catalogued with museum locations
Museums with Georges de La Tour's Work
4 museums display Tour's works. Click any museum to see visiting info and the specific works they hold.
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About Georges de La Tour
La Tour was a French Baroque painter and leading Caravaggist who specialized in dramatic candlelit scenes. Though he never traveled to Italy, he absorbed Caravaggio's influence through Dutch followers like Gerrit van Honthorst, developing an even more radical simplification of form.
"The Newborn," "St. Joseph the Carpenter," and "The Lamentation over St. Sebastian" rank among his most celebrated candlelit masterpieces. These nocturnal scenes reduce human forms to geometric shapes bathed in warm light from a single flame.
His work hangs at the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The Musée Lorrain in Nancy, capital of his home region, also preserves paintings from his career.
After his death in an epidemic in 1652, his work was completely forgotten for over 250 years. German art historian Hermann Voss rediscovered him in 1915, identifying paintings previously misattributed to other artists and establishing his modern reputation as a master of French painting.
He specialized in nocturnal scenes lit by single candles, geometrically simplifying human forms while creating dramatic chiaroscuro effects. His mature works show figures reduced to almost abstract volumes, with warm tones emerging from profound darkness.
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