New York's Morgan Library is
showing all its drawings by Guercino plus two loaned by private
collections "to pay homage to the virtuosity" of what an artist
called the "greatest draughtsman of the Italian Baroque".
The show, which opened October 4, runs until February 2 next
year.
It spans the entire career of the self-taught artist from
Cento near Venice, from his initial admiration of the Carraccis
in Bologna.
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino (1591-1666),
was arguably the most interesting and diverse draftsman of the
Italian Baroque era, a natural virtuoso who created brilliant
drawings in a broad range of media.
The Morgan owns more than twenty-five works by the artist,
and these are the subject of a focused exhibition, supplemented
by a handful of loans from public and private New York
collections.
The exhibition will include sheets from all moments of the
artist's career.
His early awareness of the work of the Carraccis in Bologna
is documented by figures drawn from everyday life as well as
brilliant caricatures; two drawings for Guercino's own drawing
manual are further testament to his interest in questions of
academic practice.
Following his career, a range of preparatory drawings
includes studies made in connection with his earliest
altarpieces as well as his mature masterpieces, including
multiple studies for several projects, allowing the visitor to
see Guercino's mind at work as he reconsidered his ideas.
The Morgan's holdings also include studies for engravings, as
well as highly finished landscape and figure drawings that were
independent works.
While some of the Morgan's Guercino drawings are well known,
they have never been exhibited or published as a group, and the
selection includes a number of new acquisitions.
Curator John Marciari said "Guercino did not limit himself to
a single study for each project but drew and drew, often
radically changing his mind.
"It's like seeing his mind at work".
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