a Flemish painter who was a prominent member of the Antwerp Caravaggisti. He is mainly known for his genre scenes with strong chiaroscuro effects. Adam de Coster’s oeuvre is mainly composed of genre paintings with half-length figures and dramatic light effects. He preferred stark chiaroscuro and returned time and again to the motif of half-length figures illuminated by candlelight. He was clearly familiar with the work of Caravaggio and his followers and in particular the Utrecht Caravaggists. De Coster's paintings show a certain affinity with those of Georges de La Tour and other French variations of the tenebrist movement in Caravaggism.
