Michael Sweerts: 1618-1664

The Brussels-born painter Michael Sweerts pursued his extraordinarily varied career in Italy, Flanders, Holland, and the Far East. One of the most creative yet reticent artists of the Baroque period, he painted low-live figures from the streets of Rome, dandies, rich merchants, and exotic Orientals, as well as bathers and wrestlers. The monumental stillness of his genre scenes, the evocative quality of his pictures of artists’ studios, and the unusual scrutiny he brings to his character studies set him apart from his contemporaries both in Italy and northern Europe. His haunting evocations of adolescent beauty are often compared to Vermeer.

Virtually unknown at the beginning of the 20th century, Sweerts is now one of the most sought-after painters of his epoch. This book reveals all his various facets through a selection of the very best paintings from his oeuvre, and also contains a full account of the 21 remarkable etchings he produced in Brussels in the late 1650s. Technical studies and new archival research provide valuable insights into the life and working methods of this enigmatic artist whose powerful and finely executed images continue to intrigue both specialists and art-lovers alike.