Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Adam de Coster specialized in nocturnes with candlelight effects, one of the most typical expressions of the ‘tenebroso’ style of painting. Apart from obvious genre scenes these also include religious history pieces such as Judith with the Head of Holofernes, which as a night scene and in the grisliness of the story depicted lends itself perfectly to a Caravaggesque interpretation. The use of camouflaged candlelight links De Coster’s work to similar paintings done in the 1620s by the influential Utrecht painter Gerrit van Honthorst.