Louis Finson

Louis Finson, Lodewijk Finson or Ludovicus Finsonius (between 1574 and 1580 – 1617) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, copyist and art dealer. He painted portraits, religious compositions, allegorical paintings and genre scenes. Moving to Italy early in his career, he became one of the first Flemish followers of Caravaggio whom he knew personally in Naples. He produced a number of copies after works by Caravaggio. He worked for a number of years in various cities in France where he created altarpieces and portraits. He is known for being the co-owner together with his fellow Flemish painter and business partner Abraham Vinck of two paintings by Caravaggio, possibly including the Judith Beheading Holofernes rediscovered in Toulouse in 2014. Louis Finson played a major role in the Northern Caravaggesque movement through his own works as well as his role as an art dealer.

The monograph and catalogue raisonné devoted to Louis Finson are written by the art historian Olivier Morand, whose research brings to light the singular place of this painter within the European artistic context of the early seventeenth century. This comprehensive study aims not only to establish the artist’s corpus with precision, but also to illuminate his relationships with contemporaries, his movements between Italy, France, and the Low Countries, and the lasting influence of his work .