Ecce Homo, Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 - 1642) workshop

Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 - 1642) workshop Ecce Homo (LINK for complete details) oil on canvas 59 x 47 cm. - in frame (defects and minor losses) 76 x 66 cm. Provenance: On the reverse is the label "J. A. Butti & Son", a historic art and antique gallery based in Edinburgh (7 Queen Street), active between the 19th and early 20th centuries. Notes: Interesting detail on the reverse, the wax seal of the Administration of Royal Revenues of Florence, an important government body of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany active between 1786 and 1846, responsible for managing state-confiscated assets. Starting from 1786, Grand Duke Peter Leopold (and subsequently the French government during the Napoleonic era) decreed the suppression of numerous monasteries and convents, and all paintings, panels, and valuable artistic assets from these structures were inventoried and marked on the back with this seal to attest to state ownership before being sold. The proposed artwork, depicting the intense image of Christ crowned with thorns, reprises the iconography of the Ecce Homo conceived by Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 - 1642), one of his most moving compositions, a subject so celebrated in the artist's career, testifying to the enormous success he achieved. It is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces of Reni's painting, which brings to light an immortal and ideal beauty, a work in which the ideal and poetic grandeur of his creative genius has reached its highest and unsurpassable level. The figure of Christ is shown in a bust portrait against a light background, wearing the crown of thorns, a symbol of royalty conferred upon him by the soldiers to mock him during his imprisonment. By focusing the attention here on Christ's face, with his mouth slightly open and his eyes turned upwards, Reni managed to create a prototype of this composition that is still very well-known today, and which was later replicated by his workshop in numerous variations, with slight differences from one to another. The closest iconographic parallels can be found with the Ecce Homo preserved at the Louvre Museum (fig. 1, URL: https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010060765), the painting at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden (fig. 2, URL: https://skd-online-collection.skd.museum/Details/Index/356046), and also with those in the Corsini Gallery in Rome (fig. 3) and the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna (fig. 4). The canvas reveals the author's ability to show not only the physical description but also the psychological state of Christ, who, with his gaze turned upwards, appears physically and emotionally exhausted and suffering. Nevertheless, his image is touched by an indescribable grace, facilitated by the refinement of the palette and by a soft and enveloping luminosity. Regarding our version, it is a work executed with good pictorial precision, such that its paternity can be traced to one of the numerous painters active in the 17th century, who gravitated around Reni's entourage, or to a follower active immediately afterwards. In Rome, as in Bologna, Reni always had many pupils, managing one of the largest and most productive workshops in Europe to meet the high volume of commissions. His academy is said to have always had no less than two hundred students: among Reni's pupils, the most famous are Gessi, Simone Contarini, Andrea Sirani and his daughter Elisabetta, Semenza, Domenico Maria Canuti, and Cignani. A characteristic of almost all the work of these pupils is a soft, delicate, and fragile pictorial style. STATE OF CONSERVATION: The state of conservation of the artwork is very good, the pictorial layer presents no problems, with small scattered retouches, appropriate for the period. The artwork includes a beautiful carved and gilded wooden frame, in fair overall condition, with defects and losses. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The artwork is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet. We handle and organize the transport of purchased works, both within Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers. It is also possible to view the painting in our gallery in Riva del Garda; we will be happy to welcome you to show you our collection of works. Contact us, without obligation, for any additional information. Follow us also on: https://www.instagram.com/galleriacastelbarco/?hl=it https://www.facebook.com/galleriacastelbarco/