Lot No. 247


Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called il Guercino


Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called il Guercino - Old Master Paintings

(Cento 1591–1666 Bologna)
Cupid lying on his back,
oil on paper laid down on canvas, 29 x 47.8 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection;
acquired by the grandfather of the present owner

We are grateful to Nicholas Turner for confirming the attribution on the basis of a photograph and for his help in cataloguing this lot.

This painting is a rare example of Guercino’s little-known body of oil sketches, which he generally made actual size, for a figure, or a detail of a figure, to be used in a painting. Guercino made such sketches to explore important figurative details in his compositions, but very few have survived.

The infant in this painting corresponds, with differences, including in finish, to the figure of Cupid in Guercino’s composition of Venus, Mars, Cupid and Time, painted circa 1624–1626, known from two versions, one formerly with Dorotheum, 17 April 2013, lot 616, and the other at Dunham Massey (fig. 1; see N. Turner, The paintings of Guercino: a revised and expanded catalogue raisonné, Rome 2017, pp. 410-412, cat. nos. 136-II and III).

Especially pertinent is the horizontal surface on which the infant lies in the sketch, with the folds in the drapery beneath him flattened by his weight. In the painted compositions, however, Cupid, his cushion and his bed linen are tilted slightly upwards, presumably so that the group would fit more compactly within one side of the oval field. In the present sketch, however, no provision seems to have been made for this upward slant of Cupid’s bedding. This explains why one of the greatest differences between the sketch and the final painted composition is in the folds of the white cloth, much altered to fill the space caused by their new, sloped position.

By coincidence, one of his sketches of the Head of Venus, in the Schoeppler collection, London (see op. cit. Turner, 2017, p. 410, cat. no.136-I) is also for the Venus, Mars, Cupid and Time and explores, again with differences, the head of Venus as she looks rebukingly at her errant son. A comparison may be made between the two sketches: the head is silhouetted against a solid dark background, much as Cupid’s body is here. In the artist’s eminently practical, time-saving approach to his work, this neutral field needed no elaboration. As to the spontaneous handling in both sketches, highlights are sparingly applied. Similar stylistic devices appear in both sketches, for example, Venus has a tiny spot of highlight on the tip of her nose, as does Cupid on his. Both touches serve their purpose brilliantly in showing the roundness of the end of the nose.

Cupid, the god of love, caused untold mischief to both gods and men and is seen here receiving his comeuppance. Mars, Venus and Time angrily reprimand the harmless-looking cherub. Caught unawares in Vulcan’s net as he slept on a cushion, he lies on his back, his legs and arms thrashing uselessly in the air. The figure in the present sketch is much the same in size to its counterpart in the ex-Dorotheum and Dunham Massey paintings. Some significant formal differences reveal that it was painted before these two pictures. For example, several pentimenti in his left arm and leg show that Guercino was at an early stage in devising the figure’s pose. Moreover, the lack of any indication of Vulcan’s net resting near Cupid’s body would also seem to exclude it being a copy.

Specialist: Mark MacDonnell Mark MacDonnell
+43 1 515 60 403

mark.macdonnell@dorotheum.at

10.11.2020 - 16:00

Realized price: **
EUR 25,300.-
Estimate:
EUR 20,000.- to EUR 30,000.-

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called il Guercino


(Cento 1591–1666 Bologna)
Cupid lying on his back,
oil on paper laid down on canvas, 29 x 47.8 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection;
acquired by the grandfather of the present owner

We are grateful to Nicholas Turner for confirming the attribution on the basis of a photograph and for his help in cataloguing this lot.

This painting is a rare example of Guercino’s little-known body of oil sketches, which he generally made actual size, for a figure, or a detail of a figure, to be used in a painting. Guercino made such sketches to explore important figurative details in his compositions, but very few have survived.

The infant in this painting corresponds, with differences, including in finish, to the figure of Cupid in Guercino’s composition of Venus, Mars, Cupid and Time, painted circa 1624–1626, known from two versions, one formerly with Dorotheum, 17 April 2013, lot 616, and the other at Dunham Massey (fig. 1; see N. Turner, The paintings of Guercino: a revised and expanded catalogue raisonné, Rome 2017, pp. 410-412, cat. nos. 136-II and III).

Especially pertinent is the horizontal surface on which the infant lies in the sketch, with the folds in the drapery beneath him flattened by his weight. In the painted compositions, however, Cupid, his cushion and his bed linen are tilted slightly upwards, presumably so that the group would fit more compactly within one side of the oval field. In the present sketch, however, no provision seems to have been made for this upward slant of Cupid’s bedding. This explains why one of the greatest differences between the sketch and the final painted composition is in the folds of the white cloth, much altered to fill the space caused by their new, sloped position.

By coincidence, one of his sketches of the Head of Venus, in the Schoeppler collection, London (see op. cit. Turner, 2017, p. 410, cat. no.136-I) is also for the Venus, Mars, Cupid and Time and explores, again with differences, the head of Venus as she looks rebukingly at her errant son. A comparison may be made between the two sketches: the head is silhouetted against a solid dark background, much as Cupid’s body is here. In the artist’s eminently practical, time-saving approach to his work, this neutral field needed no elaboration. As to the spontaneous handling in both sketches, highlights are sparingly applied. Similar stylistic devices appear in both sketches, for example, Venus has a tiny spot of highlight on the tip of her nose, as does Cupid on his. Both touches serve their purpose brilliantly in showing the roundness of the end of the nose.

Cupid, the god of love, caused untold mischief to both gods and men and is seen here receiving his comeuppance. Mars, Venus and Time angrily reprimand the harmless-looking cherub. Caught unawares in Vulcan’s net as he slept on a cushion, he lies on his back, his legs and arms thrashing uselessly in the air. The figure in the present sketch is much the same in size to its counterpart in the ex-Dorotheum and Dunham Massey paintings. Some significant formal differences reveal that it was painted before these two pictures. For example, several pentimenti in his left arm and leg show that Guercino was at an early stage in devising the figure’s pose. Moreover, the lack of any indication of Vulcan’s net resting near Cupid’s body would also seem to exclude it being a copy.

Specialist: Mark MacDonnell Mark MacDonnell
+43 1 515 60 403

mark.macdonnell@dorotheum.at


Buyers hotline Mon.-Fri.: 10.00am - 5.00pm
old.masters@dorotheum.at

+43 1 515 60 403
Auction: Old Master Paintings
Auction type: Saleroom auction with Live Bidding
Date: 10.11.2020 - 16:00
Location: Vienna | Palais Dorotheum
Exhibition: 04.11. - 10.11.2020


** Purchase price incl. charges and taxes

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