Guercino

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Il Guercino ( born February 8, 1591 in Cento, † December 22, 1666 in Bologna) was an Italian painter of the Baroque. His stage name ( " Squint-Eye " ) refers to his right eye, with which he squinted since an accident in his childhood, as his biographer Malvasia reported. However, this is still considered not occupied entirely.

Life

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri was born the son of Andrea Barbieri and Elena Ghisellini. Even as a seven year old, he is said to have drawn with talent and painted a year later. At 17, he began his training with Benedetto Gennari, a painter of the Bolognese school. However, Guercino applies largely self-taught, since his training with Gennari should not be of long duration. No later than 1615, he moved to Bologna, where the work of the young man the praise of Ludovico Carracci found. Guercino was, just like the Carracci family has been very influenced by contemporary art theorists who demanded a new naturalism. Marquis Enzo Bentivoglio gave him his recommendation against Pope Gregory XV. , A member of the Bolognese Ludovisi family was. He invited Barbieri 1621 to Rome, where he remained two years later to the death of the Pope. During his lifetime, highly recognized and highly productive - not less than 106 altarpieces and 144 more paintings come from his hand - he managed to build a large fortune. He painted and taught until his death in 1666.

Work

His early style was based on the Carracci family, and in particular at the drawing school, the Accademia dei Desiderosi, after which it was modeled Guercino in 1616 in his home town of Cento founded his own academy, the Accademia del Nudo. The numerous reforms of the Carracci Academy, namely the study of the human body on a live model, the interest in natural light and its refraction on the human skin, and the turn to naturalism in general should characterize Guercino sustainable. Especially Ludovico Carracci practiced here from a profound impact on the artist, and it is noted that Guercino himself never was a pupil of the Carracci, but always studied their works. Like no other artist of the Baroque are obtained by Guercino surprising number of drawings which he used not only as a preparation for his commercial work, but also gave away privately. In his later works he approached more his contemporary Guido Reni, and painted with more light and clarity. He is known to have two large canvases painted in the style of Caravaggio, although he probably had previously seen no original Caravaggio. The reason for this parallel between the artists is always the strong light- dark contrasts, the so-called chiaroscuro led, which was characteristic of both Caravaggio and Guercino. To what extent the fact that Guercino squinted and probably due to its perceived his environment differently, with played into it, can not be fully elucidated. The images Elias, taken nourished by the Ravens and Samson from the Philistines show a pronounced naturalism. They were for Cardinal Serra, the papal legate at Ferrara made ​​. In Rome, he created frescoes in the Villa Ludovisi and San Crisogono. His portrait of Pope Gregory XV. is now on display at the Getty Center. He also portrayed Cardinal Francesco Cennini. In 1626 he began his frescoes in the Duomo of Piacenza. 1640 he painted an altarpiece with Saint Anne for Benadduci Chapel in San Nicola in Tolentino.

Works

• Primi elementi by introdurre i giovani al disegno. Rossi, Roma 1619th ( digitized )