Matthias Stom (commonly referred to as Stomer in modern literature) was a Dutch or Flemish painter who worked in Italy, specialising in exaggerated Caravaggesque effects of light and shadow, with leathery surfaces suited to his frequent representation of elderly characters.
Little is known of Stom's early life; the earliest known reference to Stom dates from 1630, when he was living in Rome. In around 1632 Stom went to Naples, where he encountered the work of Ribera, earned commissions for church decorations and established a successful trade producing smaller candlelit scenes for local wealthy mercantile patrons.
During the 1640s, Stom was active in Palermo and elsewhere in Sicily. His most important patron from this time was Antonio Ruffo, the duke of Messina, an avid collector who subsequently commissioned works from Rembrandt. The last known work by Stom was a large altarpiece, The Assumption of the Virgin with Three Saints, for a church in the town of Chiuduno near Bergamo in Lombardy dating from 1652, although it is unclear whether Stom himself had returned to northern Italy or if he remained in Sicily and instead shipped the work.
Subscribe to receive email
updates from Robilant + Voena.
