Guercino, eigentl./in reality Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591 - 1666)

Along with the Carracci family and Guido Reni (1575–1642), Giovanni Francesco Barbieri – also called “il Guercino” [the squinter] because of his squinting right eye – is among the leading Bolognese baroque painters. His oeuvre lies somewhere between the ideal classicism of the Carraccis and the powerful naturalism of Caravaggio (1571–1610). The painter spent his apprentice years in his native town of Cento and in nearby Bologna. In 1612 he was already commissioned for several altar-pieces and executed frescos on various palazzi. Among his patrons was the influential Bolognese Cardinal Archbishop Alessandro Ludovisi (1554–1623), who came to the Holy See in 1621 as Pope Gregory XV. Guercino followed the new pope to Rome, but left the Eternal City shortly after Ludovisi’s death in 1623. He then returned to Cento for almost 20 years. When Guido Reni died in 1642, Guercino moved to Bologna, where he became head of the painting school.

Author: Habersatter Thomas

Literature: DUCKE Astrid, HABERSATTER Thomas, OEHRING Erika: Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2015, S. 16