The Duet, 1624 (oil on canvas)

In this seductive picture, a hearty, mustachioed man and an alluringly clad young woman stand together over an open book singing by candlelight. Their lips parted in song, the couple wears sumptuous, theatrical clothing of feathers, fur and brightly colored fabrics. They seem to emerge from darkness, the flame of the partially obscured candle providing the only illumination and bathing the soft fur of the man's robe and the bare skin of the woman's breast in a warm glow. Captured in this work is Honthorst's extraordinary mastery in rendering the effects of candlelight as it plays over forms in a darkened interior, a skill for which he was given the moniker 'Gherardo delle Notti', or 'Gherardo of the Night'.