FOLLOWER OF GIOVANNI FRANCESCO BARBIERI, CALLED IL GUERCINO | Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist

oil on canvas, unframed A period copy after the unfinished painting by Guercino, datable to 'circa' 1616, in the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, Houston, Texas (inv. no. BF.1983.2).1 That painting would appear itself to be a second iteration of another unfinished version of the composition, in the Galleria Pallavicini, Rome (inv. no. 15), the autograph status of which has previously divided scholars, but which is attributed to the artist in full in the most recent 'catalogue raisonné' by Nicholas Turner.2 The Blaffer version (and the present copy) is painted from a closer perspective, the figures filling more of the picture frame, with the figure of the Christ Child more in proportion and the size of the Baptist's head reduced. Both original canvases provide an insight into Guercino's working methods, exploring early ideas on trial canvases, particularly in the first part of his career. Two other painted copies are recorded: at Christ Church, Oxford and Hampton Court, and several drawn compositional studies exist, but no final realisation of the subject has so far come to light.  1 https://www.mfah.org/art/detail/204152 http://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda.v2.jsp?locale=it&decorator=layout_resp&apply=true&tipo_scheda=OA&id=59492&titolo=Barbieri+Giovan+Francesco+%28Guercino%29%2C+bottega%2C+Madonna+con+Bambino+e+san+Giovannino

All paintings available to view at the Sotheby’s Greenford Park warehouse, 5 - 7 and 10 – 13 September (10 - 4pm), by appointment. The canvas is lined, the paint surface is dirty and the varnish is discoloured and uneven. There is a prominent horizontal tear, centre, measuring 23.5cm. There are also horizontal and vertical cracks in the paint surface, particularly in the figure of Saint John the Baptist, measuring 7, 10 and 13 cm. The canvas shows evidence of wear, most notably in the dark background and along the lower margin, with small scattered spots of paint loss and surface abrasion. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals a thick varnish, underneath which retouchings are visible along the aforementioned cracks, in the Baptist's forehead, in Christ's chin, neck and arm, and a spot in the background, upper right. It is difficult to discern more beneath the milky and uneven varnish, however.
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