Are the changed appearances of Carel Fabritius’ paintings a consequence of mobility?

One of Rembrandt’s most talented pupils, Carel Fabritius (1622–1654), has a limited oeuvre owing to his premature death in the Delft Gunpowder Explosion of 1654. Despite only 12 years of activity, Fabritius’ ambitious, large history paintings from the 1640s differ considerably in style and execution from the smaller works he produced during his final years in Delft. All this presents a challenge to our understanding of the artist’s development within such a short time span. In order to understand these differences, the influence of the colour of the grounds applied to canvases or panels prior to the actual painting process on the painting technique and on the final appearance, seemed a promising approach. Overall, the changes in the colour of the grounds were found to relate to the artist’s mobility, from Middenbeemster to Amsterdam and then his final move to Delft.