February 8, 1591 was the birthday of Giovanni Francesco Barbieri better know as Guercino. He was born into a family of peasant farmers in Cento a small town in the Po Valley. His nickname, Guercino, refers to the fact that he was cross-eyed being a diminutive of the Italian word for ‘squinter’.
His early works were naturalistic somewhat in the style of Carravagio. He spent three years in Rome at the invitation of Pope Gregory XV and stayed there until Gregory’s death in 1623 when Guercino returned to Bologna. He set up his studio there, took on pupils and was incredibly prolific. His later works are more classical and embody much more luminosity and clarity than his early works thanks partly to his use of chiaroscuro.
We can see this in his two paintings of ‘Susanna and the Elders’, the biblical tale set in Babylon when two old men conspire to seduce and blackmail a young woman to have sex with them.
Here is his first painting of the subject, painted in 1617. It is very dynamic.
Contrast it with this later version painted in 1650 by the same artist. It shows much more contrast between light and dark and appears more luminous.
It’s also interesting to contrast both of these paintings with one on the same subject by Artemisia Gentileschi – one of the very few female artists of the time. Her painting of the subject has, to me, a particular female point of view; the postures of the men are threatening and lascivious and the woman seems clearly oppressed. It’s an interesting contrast in perspectives. This was her very first signed painting.
Guercino died in 1666 leaving a large number of works and many pupils who became well-know painters in their own right.
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