Pope Nicholas V Visiting the Tomb of St Francis of Assisi

In Li�ge, early seventeenth-century painting was strongly influenced by Roman Early Baroque. The most important master was G�rard Douffet. After returning from Rome in 1624, he executed monumental altarpieces and other religious images which combined a dramatic power of expression, Caravaggist in origin, achieved by effective chiaroscuro and a poignant representation of emotion taken from life. His style is well illustrated by his masterpiece, Pope Nicholas V Visiting the Tomb of St Francis of Assisi.

Douffet’s work after the late 1630s did not have the same penetrating effectiveness.