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See the original at Galleria Spada in Rome
The Death of Dido
by Guercino, 1631
Details
- Year
- 1631
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 237 cm × 335 cm
Guercino painted The Death of Dido in 1631, commissioned by Cardinal Bernardino Spada as a gift for Maria de' Medici. When her fortunes changed and she fled to Belgium, the Cardinal purchased the painting for 400 scudi. It now hangs in Room III of the Galleria Spada in Rome.
The scene depicts Queen Dido's suicide from Virgil's Aeneid, Book IV. Abandoned by Aeneas, who left Carthage to fulfill his destiny of founding Rome, Dido built a funeral pyre outside her palace and impaled herself on Aeneas's own sword. Guercino captures the moment of death: the queen lies on the pyre, the blade piercing her chest, attendants frozen in horror.
Born Giovanni Francesco Barbieri in 1591, Guercino earned his nickname (meaning "squinter") from his crossed eyes. He was largely self-taught and known for extraordinary speed. After rival Guido Reni died in 1642, Guercino moved to Bologna and became the city's leading painter. His fluid brushwork and dramatic lighting define this work.
