Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino

Sale, London, Christie's, 26 March 1968, lot 163 (to Sewell);

Private collection, New York

This drawing, representing as it does a wealthy merchant seated at a large table counting coins from a purse, while his wife looks on, holding another purse full of coins, is not entirely typical of Guercino's genre scenes, observed from daily life. Here, the couple are well dressed, the merchant's hat and collar are finished with fur trimmings, and the woman is wearing pearl earrings and a necklace.

Guercino's so-called genre drawings are generally street scenes, seemingly executed, like his caricatures, for his own entertainment and that of his family and friends. All his life, Guercino had a close association with the everyday community in his native town of Cento, and also with his rural background.

In the present drawing Guercino seems to be observing the scene at a distance, with amused detachment, and did not simply jot down what he saw, but instead recorded it in a rather finished and accomplished drawing.