Liverpool artwork of the day – Friday October 5 2007. ‘Head and shoulders of a youth looking up to the left’ c1614. Guido Reni (1575 – 1642) Black and white chalk on buff-grey paper, 29 x 23.5cm at The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (not on permanent display)
This is a study for the head of the Archangel Gabriel in the fresco ‘Allegory of the Triumph of Christ’ painted in about 1614 -15 on the cupola of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament in Ravenna Cathedral.
The cupola itself was painted quickly, perhaps because of the unpleasantness of a lengthy stay in the declining city of Ravenna. A contemporary described it as hot and disease-ridden, notorious for its awful wine and infamous water. Reni did not enjoy working on large-scale frescos. He left most of the actual painting to his assistants. He concentrated instead on producing the cartoons for the composition and a range of figure studies and details in black chalk and pen and ink.
Although no doubt drawn from a live model, Reni has given this drawing an air of elegant refinement appropriate to the Archangel Gabriel. The fresco itself is no longer in good condition, having been poorly restored on a couple of occasions. A study such as this is the best way to enjoy the graceful beauty of Reni’s original concept, which won the praise of his contemporaries. One of them, Cavaliere d’Arpino said of him, whilst ‘we paint like mere mortals, he paints like an angel’.
Purchased with the help of the National Art Collections Fund and National Heritage Memorial Fund.
The Walker Art Gallery has a large and varied collection of works on paper. It includes many 18th and 19th century landscape watercolours by artists such as Paul Sandby, JMW Turner, John Sell Cotman and Peter de Wint. There are works by 19th century Liverpool artists including Samuel Williamson, Andrew Hunt and Samuel Austin. We also have a unique collection of cartoons by the eighteenth century portrait painter George Romney.
Please note that due to the delicate nature of these works, they are not on permanent display. Special exhibitions are sometimes held and visitors can make appointments to view specific pieces.
See the Walker’s Online feature on the Works on Paper Collection