The baroque painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri became famous under the name of Guercino, which in Italian means squinting. He received this nickname at a young age due to a malposition of the eyes. Guercino was the son of a simple farming family from Cento in the region of Emilia-Romagna. His brother was Paolo Antonio Barbieri, who also became a famous painter. At the age of 16, Guercino began an apprenticeship in his home town of Cento in the workshop of the early Baroque painter Benedetto Gennari. Although Guercino learned much from his master, he was mainly a self-taught painter. Especially the style from Bologna and the works of Lodovico Cerraci exerted a strong influence on Guercino's paintings. In his works, the play of light and shadow stands out, as can be found in the works of Caravaggio. However, it is highly unlikely that Guercino adopted this method from Caravaggio, as their paths did not cross. It is more probable that the two developed independently of each other. For Guercino became acquainted with similar methods on his study trips to Bologna and Venice.
At the age of 30 Guercino travelled to Rome. The Marquis of Bologna had warmly recommended Guercino's skills to the then newly elected Pope. The years in Rome were very productive. Among other things, some frescoes, altarpieces and a portrait of the Pope were created during this time. When the Pope died two years later, Guercino returned to his home town of Cento. There he opened a workshop and worked for the next decades on various projects, paintings and frescos. Only after the death of his rival Guido Reni in 1642 was Guercino able to move his workshop to Bologna. For Reni was more fully recognized as the leading painter of sacred motifs and successor of Annibale Carracci in Bologna. Reni's death opened up the possibility for Guercino to take over this role. For the next 22 years, until his death, Guercino lived and worked in Bologna with great success.
Guercino was a very productive artist who also possessed a remarkable speed. During his active creative period he created 106 large altarpieces and over 140 paintings. With this he was able to build up a considerable fortune. Since Guercino never married and had no children of his own, his pupils and nephews Benedetto and Cesare Gennari inherited his fortune and the workshop. They were the sons of his sister Lucia. She married Ercole Gennari, the son of Guercino's former teacher Benedetto Gennari. Guercino had many students during his life, including Giulio Coralli, Sebastiano Ghezzi, Lorenzo Bergonzoni, Francesco Paglia and Bartolomeo Caravoglia. © Meisterdrucke
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The baroque painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri became famous under the name of Guercino, which in Italian means squinting. He received this nickname at a young age due to a malposition of the eyes. Guercino was the son of a simple farming family from Cento in the region of Emilia-Romagna. His brother was Paolo Antonio Barbieri, who also became a famous painter. At the age of 16, Guercino began an apprenticeship in his home town of Cento in the workshop of the early Baroque painter Benedetto Gennari. Although Guercino learned much from his master, he was mainly a self-taught painter. Especially the style from Bologna and the works of Lodovico Cerraci exerted a strong influence on Guercino's paintings. In his works, the play of light and shadow stands out, as can be found in the works of Caravaggio. However, it is highly unlikely that Guercino adopted this method from Caravaggio, as their paths did not cross. It is more probable that the two developed independently of each other. For Guercino became acquainted with similar methods on his study trips to Bologna and Venice.
At the age of 30 Guercino travelled to Rome. The Marquis of Bologna had warmly recommended Guercino's skills to the then newly elected Pope. The years in Rome were very productive. Among other things, some frescoes, altarpieces and a portrait of the Pope were created during this time. When the Pope died two years later, Guercino returned to his home town of Cento. There he opened a workshop and worked for the next decades on various projects, paintings and frescos. Only after the death of his rival Guido Reni in 1642 was Guercino able to move his workshop to Bologna. For Reni was more fully recognized as the leading painter of sacred motifs and successor of Annibale Carracci in Bologna. Reni's death opened up the possibility for Guercino to take over this role. For the next 22 years, until his death, Guercino lived and worked in Bologna with great success.
Guercino was a very productive artist who also possessed a remarkable speed. During his active creative period he created 106 large altarpieces and over 140 paintings. With this he was able to build up a considerable fortune. Since Guercino never married and had no children of his own, his pupils and nephews Benedetto and Cesare Gennari inherited his fortune and the workshop. They were the sons of his sister Lucia. She married Ercole Gennari, the son of Guercino's former teacher Benedetto Gennari. Guercino had many students during his life, including Giulio Coralli, Sebastiano Ghezzi, Lorenzo Bergonzoni, Francesco Paglia and Bartolomeo Caravoglia. © Meisterdrucke
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.jpg "The Sala di Aurora Hall of the Dawn detail of an Allegory of Night, 1621 tempera on panel by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Salome Receiving the Head of St. John the Baptist, 1637 by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Portrait of a Dog by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
 - (MeisterDrucke-41438).jpg "St. Sebastian succoured by two angels, 1617 (oil on copper) by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Self Portrait, or Portrait of a Young Man by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Madonna and Child by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Death of Cleopatra by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
_in_Ecstasy_and_St_Benedict_(480-527)_with_an_Angel_Musici_-_(MeisterDrucke-582985).jpg "St. Francis (1182-1226) in Ecstasy and St. Benedict (480-527) with an Angel Musician, 1620 by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Self-Portrait before a Painting of Armor Fedele, 1655 by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
 - (MeisterDrucke-175878).jpg "Madonna and Child with a Swallow (Madonna della Rondinella) by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
 - (MeisterDrucke-267656).jpg "Two Women in Conversation, 17th century (red chalk on paper) by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Cleopatra and Octavian by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "St Peter and the angel by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "God the Father and Angel by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Rural landscape with buildings by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Hammon and Tamar by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
 - (MeisterDrucke-98609).jpg "The Denial of St. Peter (detail of 178311) by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Moses by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "The Sala di Aurora Hall of the Dawn detail of the ceiling depicting Dawns chariot, 1621 tempera on panel by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "Hunting Hares, 1615 by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-245183).jpg "An angel appearing to Hagar and Ishmael, c.1653 (red chalk) by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
 - (MeisterDrucke-238103).jpg "Cleopatra (oil) by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-183535).jpg "Study for the Head of the Prophet Haggai (red chalk on paper) by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")
.jpg "St. Joseph by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri")