1593-1652. French painter active in Lorraine.
He was patronized by the duke of Lorraine and
perhaps also by Louis XIII. Many of his
pictures are illuminated by a single source
of light, with deep contrasts of light and
shade. They range from religious paintings to
domestic genre scenes. La Tour's style
suggests a connection with the Dutch painters
Honthorst and Terbrugghen, who were followers
of Caravaggio, but it is distinctive, with
fire or candlelight creating warm and glowing
tones. His subjects include solitary women in
domestic interiors.