 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Assumption of the Virgin, with St Francis and Martyred Saint Pope Alexander I 1643 oil on canvas Chiesa di Santa Maria Forisportam, Lucca |
"Padre Abate Puccinelli seems to have been largely instrumental in convincing Sig. Alessandro Mazzarosa of Lucca to employ Guercino to paint the altarpiece for his family chapel. His payment of 400 ducats was entered in the account book on 19 May 1643. . . . The subject of St Francis and Pope Alexander I witnessing the Assumption of the Virgin is highly unusual. This anachronistic concept was surely at the instance of the patron, who bore the same Christian name as the pope. The picture was successfully restored in 1991 by Ottorino Nonfarmale, showing it to be beautifully preserved, a phenomenon all too rare for Guercino's altarpieces of this date. . . . St Alexander I, with his shiny bald head contrasting with his richly embroidered vestments, often in reverse to his painted counterpart, became one of the most popular half-lengths in Guercino's handbook on drawings, which went through several editions, for example Francesco Curti's bearded version of the figure [directly below]."
 |
| Francesco Curti after Guercino Study for Pope ca. 1635-40 engraving after Guercino drawing, from published drawing manual British Museum |
 |
| anonymous copyist after Guercino Return of the Prodigal Son (workshop copy of lost painting) ca. 1642-43 oil on canvas Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Return of the Prodigal Son ca. 1642-43 drawing (compositional study) National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Return of the Prodigal Son ca. 1642-43 drawing (compositional study) private collection |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Return of the Prodigal Son ca. 1642-43 drawing (figure study - Father) Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Return of the Prodigal Son ca. 1642-43 drawing (head study - Son) private collection |
 |
| Guercino Virgin and Child with St Anne 1642-43 oil on canvas Chiesa di San Martino, Senigallia |
"[Carlo Cesare] Malvasia noted that 'Tomaso Balducci di Sinigaglia' ordered the altarpiece in 1643. As recorded in the account book, its estimated cost was 230 scudi di paoli. Balducci paid a deposit of 100 scudi di paoli (128 scudi, 3 lire) and on 6 October 1643 he settled the balance of 127 scudi di paoli (154 scudi, 1 lira). This was among the first important canvases Guercino painted in Bologna after his arrival in September 1642."
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Virgin and Child with St Anne 1642-43 drawing (drapery study - St Anne) Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Virgin and Child with St Anne 1642-43 drawing (drapery study - St Anne) Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Virgin and Child with St Anne 1642-43 drawing (drapery study - St Anne) Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Virgin and Child with St Anne 1642-43 drawing (drapery study - the Virgin) Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Virgin and Child with St Anne 1642-43 drawing (drapery study - the Virgin) Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Virgin and Child with St Anne 1642-43 drawing (drapery study - the Virgin) Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart |
 |
| Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) Agony in the Garden ca. 1640-45 oil on canvas National Museum of Wales, Cardiff |
"The painting may be identical with the 'Christo grande orante nell'Orto con l'Angelo & Apostoli in lontananza' recorded by Malvasia among the paintings by Guercino made at different times in his career that remained in his house in Bologna at his death. The painting does not feature in the account book. Why it was neither paid for nor delivered is unknown. The style indicates a date in the first half of the 1640s."
– quoted texts from The Paintings of Guercino: a revised and expanded catalogue raisonné by Nicholas Turner (Rome: Ugo Bozzi Editore, 2017)