Dirck Barendsz or Theodor Barendszoon (1534–1592) was a Dutch Renaissance painter from Amsterdam who traveled to Italy in his youth to learn from the Italian masters, most notably Titian.

He was trained by his father, a painter known as Barend Dircksz, or deaf Barent,[1] and in 1555, at the age of twenty-one, Barendsz travelled to Italy.

During his seven-year stay there, Karel van Mander tells us that he was "nursed at the great Titian's bosem.

"[2][3] He was a great friend of Philip Van Marnix, whom he met in Rome, and Dominicus Lampsonius, with whom he corresponded in Latin.

[1] He was a good musician and his most notable work, among various other pieces Van Mander describes that he painted in Amsterdam, was a Judith.