Guercino

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Il Guercino
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Guercino
Self portrait, c. 1635
Born
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri

(1591-02-08)February 8, 1591
DiedDecember 22, 1666(1666-12-22) (aged 75)
NationalityItalian
Known forPainting, drawing
MovementBaroque

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),[1] better known as (il) Guercino[2] (Italian pronunciation: [ɡwerˈtʃiːno]), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous naturalism of his early manner contrasts with the classical equilibrium of his later works. His many drawings are noted for their luminosity and lively style.

Biography

The dramatic confrontation with mortality depicted in Guercino's Et in Arcadia ego (c. 1618–1622) marks the first known usage of this Latin motto (inscribed on the plinth beneath the skull)
Picasso and (possibly) Leonardo da Vinci.[5]
Caravaggio's influence is apparent in this canvas Christ and the Woman of Samaria (c. 1619–1620)
Guercino – The Persian Sibyl (1647–48)

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri was born into a family of

Bolognese School.[8] An early commission was for the decoration with frescos (1615–1616[9]) of Casa Pannini in Cento, where the naturalism of his landscapes already reveals considerable artistic independence, as do his landscapes on canvas Moonlit Landscape and Country Concert from the same era.[10] In Bologna, he was winning the praise of Ludovico Carracci. He always acknowledged that his early style had been influenced by study of a Madonna painted by Ludovico Carracci for the Capuchin church in Cento, affectionately known as "La Carraccina".[11]

His painting

The Grand Duke of Tuscany, which shares the same pair of shepherds[14]) is typical of Guercino's early works, which are often tumultuous in conception.[15] He painted two large canvases, Samson Seized by Philistines (1619) and Elijah Fed by Ravens (1620), for Cardinal Serra, a Papal Legate to Ferrara.[16][17] Painted at a time when it is unlikely that Guercino could have seen Caravaggio
's work in Rome, these works nevertheless display a starkly naturalistic Caravaggesque style.

Rome

Guercino – The Woman taken in Adultery, Dulwich Picture Gallery (1621)
Guercino – Flagellation of Christ (1657)

Guercino was recommended by Marchese

Museo Capitolini
).

Return to Bologna

Following the death of Gregory XV in 1623, Guercino returned to his hometown of Cento. In 1626, he began his

Franciscan Order of Reggio paid him 300 ducats for the altarpiece of Saint Luke Displaying a Painting of the Madonna and Child (now in Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City).[21]
The Corsini also paid him 300 ducats for the Flagellation of Christ painted in 1657.

Tomb of Guercino, Santissimo Salvatore, Bologna

Works and pupils

Guercino was remarkable for the extreme rapidity of his executions: he completed no fewer than 106 large altarpieces for churches, and his other paintings amount to about 144. He was also a prolific draftsman. His production includes many drawings, usually in ink, washed ink, or red chalk. Most of them were made as preparatory studies for his paintings, but he also drew landscapes,

genre subjects, and caricatures for his own enjoyment. Guercino's drawings are known for their fluent style in which "rapid, calligraphic pen strokes combined with dots, dashes, and parallel hatching lines describe the forms".[22]

Guercino continued to paint and teach until the end of his life, amassing a notable fortune. He died on December 22, 1666, in Bologna.[23] As he never married, his estate passed to his nephews and pupils, Benedetto Gennari II and Cesare Gennari.[7] Other pupils include Giulio Coralli,[24] Giuseppe Bonati of Ferrara,[25] Cristoforo Serra of Cesena,[26] Father Cesare Pronti of Ferrara,[27] Sebastiano Ghezzi,[28] Sebastiano Bombelli,[29] Lorenzo Bergonzoni of Bologna,[30] Francesco Paglia of Brescia.,[31] Benedetto Zallone of Cento, Bartolomeo Caravoglia,[32] Giuseppe Maria Galeppini of Forli, and Matteo Loves.

Works

  • Moonlit Landscape (c. 1616, oil on canvas, 55 × 71 cm, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden).[33] An early, naturalistic landscape.
    Moonlit Landscape (c. 1616, oil on canvas, 55 × 71 cm, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden).[33] An early, naturalistic landscape.
  • Harvesting (1615–1617, fresco, transferred to canvas, 18 × 23.5 cm, Pinacoteca, Cento, Italy). One of the frescos created (with the assistance of Lorenzo Gennari[6]) for Casa Pannini in Cento.[34] (Guercino himself came from a family of peasant farmers.)
    Harvesting (1615–1617, fresco, transferred to canvas, 18 × 23.5 cm, Pinacoteca, Cento, Italy). One of the frescos created (with the assistance of Lorenzo Gennari[6]) for Casa Pannini in Cento.[34] (Guercino himself came from a family of peasant farmers.)
  • Susanna and the Elders (1617, oil on canvas, 176 × 208 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain) was painted in Bologna for Cardinal Alessandro Ludovisi, the future Pope Gregory XV.[35] The dramatic dynamism of this early work contrasts with the studied classicism of the artist's later depiction of the same story in 1649–1650.[36]
    Susanna and the Elders (1617, oil on canvas, 176 × 208 cm,
    Alessandro Ludovisi, the future Pope Gregory XV.[35] The dramatic dynamism of this early work contrasts with the studied classicism of the artist's later depiction of the same story in 1649–1650.[36]
  • Samson Seized by the Philistines, 1619 This work showcases the biblical scene where Samson the Nazarite is betrayed by his lover Delilah. In the painting Samson is at the center, though his face cannot be seen, and surrounding him are the Philistines who have come to blind him after cutting off his hair, his source of strength. The men holding the tool that will be used to blind Samson can be seen as well as the man holding the scissors that had been used to cut Samson's hair. The figure in the righthand corner is interpreted to either be an angel looking on reminding Samson that his eventual sacrifice to save the Hebrews is right and seen in a good light by God or as an onlooker who was fleeing the scene but could not help from looking back.
    Samson Seized by the Philistines, 1619 This work showcases the biblical scene where Samson the Nazarite is betrayed by his lover Delilah. In the painting Samson is at the center, though his face cannot be seen, and surrounding him are the Philistines who have come to blind him after cutting off his hair, his source of strength. The men holding the tool that will be used to blind Samson can be seen as well as the man holding the scissors that had been used to cut Samson's hair. The figure in the righthand corner is interpreted to either be an angel looking on reminding Samson that his eventual sacrifice to save the Hebrews is right and seen in a good light by God or as an onlooker who was fleeing the scene but could not help from looking back.
  • Return of the Prodigal Son, 1619
    Return of the Prodigal Son, 1619
  • St William Receiving the Monastic Habit (1620, oil on canvas, 348.5 × 231 cm, Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Italy),[37] painted for St Gregory Church in Bologna, was Guercino's largest ecclesiastical commission at the time and is considered a high point of his early career.[7]
    St William Receiving the Monastic Habit (1620, oil on canvas, 348.5 × 231 cm, Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Italy),[37] painted for St Gregory Church in Bologna, was Guercino's largest ecclesiastical commission at the time and is considered a high point of his early career.[7]
  • Aurora, (1621, ceiling fresco, tempera, 530 × 1030 cm, Villa Aurora, Rome, Italy) was painted for the pope's nephew, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi.[38] The lively treatment of the Aurora myth challenges the more measured representation of the same subject painted by Guido Reni at Palazzo Rospigliosi on behalf of a Ludovisi family rival and makes a statement of political triumph.[39]
    Aurora, (1621, ceiling fresco, tempera, 530 × 1030 cm,
    painted by Guido Reni at Palazzo Rospigliosi on behalf of a Ludovisi family rival and makes a statement of political triumph.[39]
  • Capturing Christ, 1621
    Capturing Christ, 1621
  • Saint Matthew and the Angel, 1622
    Saint Matthew and the Angel, 1622
  • La morte di Didone, 1631
    La morte di Didone, 1631
  • Christ and the Woman of Samaria II, c. 1640–1641
    Christ and the Woman of Samaria II, c. 1640–1641
  • Atlas holding up the celestial globe, 1646
    Atlas holding up the celestial globe, 1646
  • St Peter Weeping before the Virgin, 1647
    St Peter Weeping before the Virgin, 1647
  • Mars with Cupid, 1649
    Mars with Cupid, 1649
  • Cleopatra and Octavian, 1649
    Cleopatra and Octavian, 1649
  • Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, 1649, National Gallery of Art
    Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, 1649, National Gallery of Art
  • St. Cecilia, 1649
    St. Cecilia, 1649
  • Susanna and the Elders, 1650
    Susanna and the Elders, 1650
  • David with the Head of Goliath, circa 1650
    David with the Head of Goliath, circa 1650
  • The Vocation of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, 1650
    The Vocation of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, 1650
  • Personification of Astrology, ca. 1650–1655, Blanton Museum of Art, Texas
    Personification of Astrology, ca. 1650–1655, Blanton Museum of Art, Texas
  • The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1651
    The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1651
  • King David, 1651
    King David, 1651
  • Samson and Delilah, 1654
  • Saint Joseph's Dream, 1600-1650
  • Saint Jerome, c.1640-1650
    Saint Jerome, c.1640-1650

Exhibitions

A groundbreaking exhibition held at the

National Museum in Warsaw in 2013–2014 offered another extensive presentation of the artist's work.[43]

Citations

  1. ^ Miller, 1964
  2. ^ "Beside the easel". besidetheeasel.blogspot.se. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino – Ottavio Leoni". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. National Gallery of Victoria. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  4. ^ Scholtz et al, 2019
  5. PMID 30347053
    .
  6. ^ a b Mahon, 1937a
  7. ^ a b c Turner, 2003
  8. ^ Griswold 1991, p. 6
  9. ^ "Casa Pannini di Cento". www.geoplan.it (in Italian). Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  10. ^ Stone, pp. 3, 37.
  11. ^ "La Carraccina". bbcc.ibc.regione.emilia-romagna.it (in Italian). Regione Emilia Romagna. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  12. ^ Lubbock, Tom (23 February 2007). "Guercino: Et in Arcadia Ego (1618–22)". The Independent. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Palazzo Pitti: Galleria Palatina – Apollo e Marsia". www.abcfirenze.com (in Italian).
  14. ^ "Et in Arcadia Ego by Guercino". www.wga.hu. Web Gallery of Art. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  15. ^ Griswold 1991, p. 13
  16. ^ "Samson Captured by the Philistines". www.metmuseum.org. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  17. ^ Vivian, 1971
  18. ^ Lawrence Gowing, ed., Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists, v.2 (Facts on File, 2005): 291.
  19. ^ Griswold 1991, p. 35
  20. ^ Gozzi, Fausto (2006). "Sacro e Profano nelle Incisioni da Guercino" (in Italian). Culturalia. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Guercino's Saint Luke Displaying a Painting of the Virgin". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  22. ^ Griswold 1991, p. 36
  23. ^ "Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) | The Vocation of Saint Aloysius (Luigi) Gonzaga". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  24. ^ Orlandi, 1719, p. 207
  25. ^ Orlandi, p. 207
  26. ^ Orlandi, p. 120.
  27. ^ Orlandi, p. 350.
  28. ^ Orlandi, p. 399
  29. ^ Orlandi, p. 397.
  30. ^ Orlandi, p. 294.
  31. ^ Orlandi, p. 171
  32. ^ Lanzi, 1847, pp. 309–310
  33. ^ "Giovanni Francesco Barbieri Il Guercino". emp-web-84.zetcom.ch. Nationalmuseum. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  34. ^ "Barbieri Giovan Francesco, Mietitura". catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it. Fondazione Zeri, University of Bologna. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  35. ^ "Susannah and the Elders - The Collection". Museo Nacional del Prado. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  36. ^ a b Posner, 1968
  37. ^ "San Guglielmo d'Aquitania riceve l'abito religioso da San Felice Vescovo. (Vestizione di San Guglielmo)". www.pinacotecabologna.beniculturali.it (in Italian). Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  38. ^ Vodret and Gozzi, 2011, pp. 159–161
  39. ^ Unger, 2016, p. 9; "Aurora by Guercino". www.wga.hu. Web Gallery of Art. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  40. ^ Mahon, 1992, p. 7
  41. ^ van Serooskerken, 1991
  42. ^ Vodret and Gozzi, 2011
  43. ^ "Guercino. Triumf baroku" [Guercino. Triumph of the Baroque]. www.legitymizm.org (in Polish). Organizacja Monarchistów Polskich. Retrieved 12 February 2019.

References

Books and articles on Guercino

Further reading

External links

External videos
video icon Guercino's Saint Luke Displaying a Painting of the Virgin, Smarthistory