Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called il Guercino

Casa Gennari;
Francesco Forni;
John Bouverie,
by inheritance to his sister Anne Bouverie and his brother-in-law John Hervey,
by descent to his son Christopher Hervey, at his death in 1786,
by inheritance to his aunt Elizabeth Bouverie,
by bequest to Sir Charles Middleton, later 1st Baron Barham, husband of Elizabeth Bouverie's childhood friend Margaret Gambier, to his son in law
Sir Gerard Noel, father of the 1st Earl of Gainsborough,
by descent to Charles Noel, 3rd Earl of Gainsborough,
his sale and others, London, Christie's, 27 July 1922, lot 85 (to Parsons);
purchased from E. Parsons and Sons, London, 5 August 1922

London, Royal Academy of Arts, Old Master Drawings, 1953, no. 149;
London, Royal Academy of Arts, The Paul Oppé Collection, 1958, no. 285;
Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, Exhibition of Works from the Paul Oppé Collection, 1961, no. 125;
Bologna, Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, Il Guercino, Catalogo Critico dei Disegni, 1969, no. 234, reproduced fig. 234;
London, British Museum, Drawings by Guercino from British Collections, 1991, no. 209, p. 224, reproduced fig. 209

Hinged in the middle of the left and right margins and at the bottom left corner. Generally in good condition and media strong and fresh. Stained by old glue on the left and bottom corners, and slightly on the other two corners. Very few small light brown stains towards the top margin and the left one and minor ones, slightly visible, towards the bottom and right margins.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This wonderfully strong and animated likeness of a peasant's head, in profile, wearing a soft hat, emphasizes Guercino’s acumen in capturing a timeless image.  The drawing is one of the various genre studies and caricatures that the artist seems to have executed solely for his own amusement and that of his immediate family and friends, which never appear to relate to any of his paintings (see also lot 55).  This particular example is also a great reflection of Guercino's virtuoso skill and ability in creating remarkable suggestions of light and shade with an incredible economy of means, achieved with a subtle and delicate use of wash.  The artist’s sensitive use of the white surface of the paper further reinforces his mastery and brilliance in applying this medium, one of Guercino's favourite techniques, in which he excelled in the creation of a limitless variety of luminous nuances.  His drawings were a very personal matter, and Guercino often kept them for himself; he did not like to give them away, even to patrons. 

These amusing and comic drawings, sometimes also cruel in their close observation of reality, are witness to the artist's wit, sensibility and skill in capturing the world around him, focusing on people and events from everyday life.  Many, like the present study, were surely drawn from life, and even though they can be caricatural, they still convey in their observation of nature a timeless image.  According to the biographer Malvasia, Guercino was compassionate towards people around him,¹ and Passeri, another of Guercino's biographers, mentions the artist's interest in portraying characters from the rural community of his native town, Cento.²   In choosing to describe genre subjects Guercino followed a Bolognese tradition which had its roots in the paintings and drawings of the Carracci (see lot 52), especially Annibale.  Carlo Cesare Malvasia seems to describe exactly a sheet like the present one when he writes: 'Sono anche mostruose e formidabili le falangi de' disegni, che schierandosi più degli altri ne' più adorni gabinetti, sfidano coraggiosamente qual siasi mai stat'altra leggiadra penna,...., essendo anch'essi que' del Signor Giovanni Francesco così spiritosi, guizzanti, bizarri e galanti, che ben danno a conoscere quanto più di qual siasi altro fosse nato pittore e fatto dalla natura...³ (‘It is overwhelming the quantity of drawings in the most adorned 'gabinetti', which challenge any other drawings executed in pen by other artists, being the ones by Giovanni Francesco so witty, bizarre and full of charm, that makes one realize that he was a real painter, one who observed nature.’).

The Oppé drawing has been dated stylistically by Nicholas Turner and Carol Plazzotta, in the catalogue of the 1991 British Museum exhibition, to the middle of the 1630s.  It can be closely compared with a similar drawing in the British Museum, Caricature in profile of an old man with a pair of spectacles stuck over his left ear, executed in the same media but slightly smaller in size, which must date from the same period.⁴

The provenance of this drawing is as exceptional as its artistic quality (see also lot 55).  It was purchased in Italy by John Bouverie (c.1722-50), a provenance often associated with the best of Guercino’s drawings. ⁵  An enthusiastic traveller, Bouverie died in Turkey in 1750, at the age of only 27, but during his short life he took full advantage of his travels to collect antiquities, paintings and most of all drawings.  While making his Grand Tour, principally through Italy, at some point before 1742, Bouverie was able to acquire a large number of drawings, including an entire album of sheets by Guercino purchased from the 'Abbé Bonducci' in Florence, which came directly from the Gennari family, probably from Filippo Antonio Gennari.⁶ But given the large number of drawings by Guercino that were ultimately owned by Bouverie, he clearly also acquired more drawings by the artist when he was in Italy again in 1745-46, this time most probably from Francesco Forni.  As Prisco Bagni pointed out, Francesco seems to have been the son of Antonio Forni, the leading dealer in Old Master drawings in Bologna.⁷

^1. C.C. Malvasia, Felsina Pittrice Vite dei Pittori Bolognesi, ed. Bologna 1971, p. 564

^2. G.B. Passeri, Vite de'Pittori Scultori ed Architetti che anno lavorato in Roma...., Rome 1772, p. 370

^3. C.C. Malvasia, op. cit., ed. Bologna 1971, p. 565

^4. London, British Museum, inv. no. Pp. 4-58; see N. Turner and C. Plazzotta, exhib. cat., op.cit, 1991, p. 223, reproduced pl. 31 (in color) 

^5. N. Turner, ‘John Bouverie as a Collector of Drawings,’ The Burlington Magazine, vol. 136, February 1994, pp. 90-99

^6. N. Turner and C. Plazzotta, Drawings by Guercino from British Collections, exhib. cat., London, British Museum, 1991, p. 22

^7. P. Bagni, Il Guercino e il suo falsario, I Disegni di Figura, Bologna 1990, p. 12