Month: March 2015

Sibilla Cumana con putto (1651)

Guercino (1591-1666) Sibilla Cumana con putto (The Cumaean Sibyl with a Putto) 1651 Oil on canvas, 222 x 168.5 cm National Gallery, London The Cumaean Sibyl is one of 12 pagan sibyls, or prophetesses, said to have foretold the coming…

Elia nutrito dai corvi (1620)

Guercino (1591-1666) Elia nutrito dai corvi (Elijah fed by Ravens) 1620 Oil on canvas, 195 x 156.5 cm National Gallery, London The monumental figure in this painting is Elijah, an Old Testament prophet who lived in the northern kingdom of…

Cristo morto compianto dagli angeli (c.1617-1618)

Guercino (1591-1666) Cristo morto compianto dagli angeli (Dead Christ mourned by Two Angels) c.1617–1618 Oil on copper, 36.8 x 44.4 cm National Gallery, London This small painting depicts a solemn religious scene. Two angels kneel in quiet contemplation next to…

Amor virtuoso (c.1653)

Guercino (1591-1666) Amor virtuoso (Cupid Spurning Riches) c.1653 Oil on canvas, 99 x 75 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid The papal nuncio to Spain, Camillo Massimo (1620–1677), presented Guercino’s Cupid spurning Riches and Guido Reni’s Cupid with a Bow (P150)…

Visione di sant’Agostino (1636)

Guercino (1591-1666) Visione di sant’Agostino (Saint Augustine meditating on the Trinity) 1636 Oil on canvas, 185 x 166 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid According to this saint’s story, he was walking along the seaside meditating about the mystery of the…

San Pietro liberato da un angelo (c.1622)

Guercino (1591-1666) San Pietro liberato da un angelo (Saint Peter freed by an Angel) c.1622 Oil on canvas, 105 x 136 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid A youthful looking angel with curly hair imperiously points out the path of freedom…

Maddalena penitente (1645-1649)

Guercino (1591-1666) Maddalena penitente (Mary Magdalene in Penitence) 1645–1649 Oil on canvas, 119.8 x 101.2 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid Mary Magdalene is one of the most famous saints in Christianity, for having known Christ and because she represented the…

Susanna e i vecchioni (1617)

Guercino (1591-1666) Susanna e i vecchioni (Susanna and the Elders) 1617 Oil on canvas, 176 x 208 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid Historian Denis Mahon has masterfully shown that this painting and two other famous works by Guercino –Lot and…