Gerard Seghers

Gerard Seghers (alternative spellings of last name: 'Zegers' and 'Zeghers', first name also 'Geerard' and 'Gerardo') (1591 in Antwerp – 18 March 1651 in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter, art collector and art dealer. As a painter of history and genre paintings, he was in his youth one of the leading representatives of the Flemish Caravaggisti movement.

Gerard Seghers was born in Antwerp as the son of innkeeper Jan Seghers and his wife Ida de Neve. He was likely not related to the Jesuit still life painter Daniel Seghers. At the age of 12 he was enrolled as a pupil. It is not clear who his teacher was. Possibly he trained under Abraham Janssens, Hendrick van Balen or Caspar de Crayer (the father of the more famous Gaspar de Crayer).

In 1608, only aged 17, he became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. In 1611 Seghers joined the Society of the Aged Bachelors (Sodaliteit der Bejaarde Jongmans), a fraternity for bachelors established by the Jesuit order.

He left for a trip to Italy before 15 February 1613. It is assumed that he worked there for the Antwerp art merchant Goetkint. At the same time Seghers used the experience for furthering his training as a painter and making copies after famous Italian paintings.

Gerard Seghers visited Naples and Rome as well as other places. In Rome he encountered the followers of Caravaggio, who had himself died a few years before Seghers' arrival in Rome. One in particular, Bartolomeo Manfredi, had as significant impact on his early work. Manfredi was one of the closest followers of Caravaggio and was at the height of his fame when Seghers arrived in Rome. Seghers fell strongly under the spell of Manfredi's work. He likely also met up with the Dutch and Flemish Caravaggisti residing in Rome such as Gerard van Honthorst, Dirck van Baburen and Jan Janssens and possibly also Hendrik ter Brugghen and Theodoor Rombouts.

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