Saturday, April 14, 2018

Landscape Drawings by Guercino (Cambridge and Edinburgh)

Guercino
Landscape with funeral procession
before 1666
drawing
(formerly in the Devonshire Collection at Chatsworth)
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Guercino
Landscape with a fortified wall by a river
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
Landscape
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

"In Guercino's drawings we can almost feel the artist's pen scratching the paper.  Guercino's favorite medium was a goose-feather pen dipped in ink that allowed him to quickly record his ideas on paper.  Touches of wash, areas of diagonal lines, and blurring effects of pentimenti heighten the sense of drama and spontaneity.  . . .  When considering a subject for a painting, Guercino imagined the scene from every conceivable angle.  Other artists drew numerous tiny sketches on a single sheet, but Guercino worked up a whole variety of solutions on a large scale.  . . .  Guercino was particularly sensitive to the effects of light and shade.  He often chose the medium that best reflected the texture of the subject he was drawing, using wiry pen lines for mustache or thick strokes of brown wash for wet hair.  Such effects imbue his drawings with a keen realism."

 – from curator's text to accompany Guercino: Mind to Paper, an exhibition from 2006-2007 jointly mounted by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery in London

Guercino
Landscape with a river
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
Landscape with bridge
before 1666
landscape
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
Landscape with warriors outside a burning castle
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
Tower with bridge
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
Mountainous landscape with two figures in the foreground and two herdsmen in the middle distance
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
Park-like landscape with walking and seated figures
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
River landscape with figures and distant castle
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
River landscape with figures near a turreted castle
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
River landscape with figures near ruins
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
River landscape with herdsmen
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland

Guercino
Dragon observed by spectators behind a wall
before 1666
drawing
National Galleries of Scotland