- 26
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Il Guercino
Description
- Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Il Guercino
- A seated putto holding a flower
- Red chalk
- 7 1/4 x 5 3/8 inches
Provenance
F. Forni;
Edward Bouverie (L.325);
George Salting;
Sir Bruce S. Ingram (L.1405a);
Carl Winter (bears both his marks CW and GL);
Mrs. Don Forrest,
by whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 5 December 1977, lot 11
Literature
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
In his entry for the Flying Putto, Stone describes the child as being ‘...more abstract and idealized...’ when compared with Three Studies of a Putto, a drawing for the 1648 altarpiece, Saint Margaret of Cortona (now in the Vatican).2 This description can also be applied to the present work and, as Stone suggests of the black chalk study, it may have been executed without the aid of a model. Also stylistically comparable are two other drawings, both in red chalk, The Infant Saint John The Baptist holding a cross,3 and Two Putti looking downwards, the latter in the Royal Collection at Windsor.4
It is difficult to ascertain whether the present drawing was preparatory for a specific commission, especially as Guercino produced numerous studies of putti. The inclusion of the flower might suggest that it was intended as a study for a Christ Child. Stylistically it belongs to Guercino’s later years and given the similarities it shares with A Flying Putto, a dating of circa 1650 seems appropriate.
1. D. M. Stone, op. cit., p. 127, no. 55, reproduced p. 128
2. Ibid., p. 125, no. 54, reproduced p. 126
3. Sale, New York, Sotheby's, 12 January 1990, lot 43
4. D. Mahon and N. Turner, The Drawings of Guercino...at Windsor Castle, Cambridge 1989, p. 98, no. 223, pl. 208