GIOVANNI FRANCESCO BARBIERI, CALLED GUERCINO | ANGELICA AND MEDORO

Heinrich Beckmann (1874-1940), Bremen (L.2756a),

sold by order of his heirs, Berlin, R. Puppel, 27 February 1941, lot 150 (850 Reichsmarks);

with Day and Faber, London, 2005-6;

sale, London, Christie's, 4 July 2006, lot 28;

European private collection 

N. Turner, The Paintings of Guercino: A revised and expanded catalogue raisonné, Rome 2017, pp. 638-639, no. 344.c, reproduced p. 639

This lyrical depiction of Angelica and Medoro was published by Nicholas Turner (see Literature) as part of a discussion regarding two lost commissions portraying Angelica and Medoro, both executed in the 1640s, which are only known today through preparatory drawings (including the present sheet) and an engraving.¹

Guercino received the first commission in 1642 from Cardinal Marzio Ginetti (1585-1671), Papal Legate of Ferrara from 1640 to 1643, and the second in 1647 from César, Sieur de Plessis-Praslin, Duc de Choiseul (1598-1675). Our drawing appears to follow a similar compositional format to the lost painting that is recorded in an engraving by Guglielmo Morghen (fig. 1), and whilst there is uncertainty over which patron commissioned which painting, all the other drawings discussed by Turner also appear to relate to the design portrayed in the Morghen print.² Guercino’s other interpretation of the subject is most likely reflected in a version of the painting, catalogued by Turner as possibly an original or a copy of lost original, in which the winged cupid is omitted.³

^The present drawing is a free and animated study illustrating a playful cupid pulling back the branch of the tree to allow Medoro room to write on the trunk. Angelica and Medoro inhabit a landscape that is loosely suggested by simple foliage and the central tree trunk, giving prominence to the interplay between his protagonists, who are configured in a simple triangular unit. Guercino’s skillful and economic application of pen allows just the right number of strokes to mimic movement in the drapery, making this a particularly lively and spontaneous drawing.

1. Turner, op.cit., pp. 638-639

2. Ibid., no. 344.a

3. Ibid., no. 344.b