 |
| Ludovico Carracci St Jerome translating the Bible 1591 oil on canvas Chiesa di San Martino Maggioire, Bologna |
"Ludovico was more prolific and fertile in invention, far surpassing the other two, and for this reason they would turn to him when there was a need, for he was always able to think up dozens of variations on a single idea. Furthermore, his way of painting was bolder and more resolute, whereas neither Agostino nor Annibale in his later years was ever satisfied with a work, and would keep returning to it and correcting it. Ludovico surpassed everyone in depicting hands and feet, and made them so technically perfect, and so graceful, whatever the pose or view, that I am emboldened to say that no other master has ever matched him, which explains why the phrase the beautiful hands of Ludovico has become a byword in every school of painting. No one was better than Ludovico at discovering the poses that were most perfectly suited and particular to the action that was being represented, so that if someone attempted to come up with a variation, a better one could not be found. See for instance the majestic gesture with which Saint Jerome, in the altarpiece in S. Martino Maggiore [above], brandishes his quill as he asks for divine inspiration, his noble head turned to the heavens, and his left hand resting on his open book, a pose that Guido in his sketches tried in vain to vary in many different ways but always fell back upon in the end ..."
– from The Life of the Carracci by Carlo Cesare Malvasia, originally published in Italian in 1678, translated into English in 2000 with commentary by Anne Summerscale (Pennsylvania State University Press)
 |
| Ludovico Carracci St Sebastian thrown into the Cloaca Maxima ca, 1612 drawing Louvre |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci St Sebastian thrown into the Cloaca Maxima 1612 oil on canvas Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci Alexander and Thais burning Persepolis ca. 1592 drawing National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
 |
| Luodvico Carracci Alexander and Thais burning Persepolis ca. 1592 fresco Palazzo Francia, Bologna |
And the King seized a flambeau with zeal to destroy
Thais led the way,
To light him to his prey,
And, like another Helen, fir'd another Troy.
– from Alexander's Feast, or, The Power of Music : an ode in honor of St Cecilia's Day, 1697 by John Dryden
 |
| Ludovico Carracci Madonna & Child with Angels ca. 1595-1610 drawing British Museum |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci Madonna & Child with Angels ca. 1595-1610 etching , engraving National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci Portrait of an old woman ca. 1590 oil on canvas Palazzo d'Accursio, Bologna |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci Portrait of a widow 1588-89 oil on canvas private collection |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci Birth of the Virgin 1605-07 oil on canvas Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci Kiss of Judas 1589-90 oil on canvas Princeton University Art Museum |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci St Peter in penitence ca. 1613 oil on canvas private collection |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci The Crowning with Thorns 1595 oil on canvas Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci The Trinity with the Dead Christ ca. 1590 oil on canvas Pinacoteca Vaticana |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci Ascension 1597 oil on canvas Chiesa di Santa Cristina, Bologna |
 |
| Ludovico Carracci Paradiso 1616 oil on canvas Chiesa di San Paolo Maggiore, Bologna |
Among music-making angels in Ludovico'a painted vision of Paradise (above) there is a partly-shaded figure in blue at upper left reaching out with clashing cymbals. At lower right, an angel in white prepares to play a flute while his neighbor sends a divine column of air into the workings of a slide trombone.