Guercino

Baroque painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino (1591-1666), was one of the most important Italian artists of the 17th century. His nickname means "The Squinting One," derived from a physical defect. Born in Cento near Bologna, he was largely self-taught but deeply influenced by Ludovico Carracci, whose "Madonna with St. Francis" in a local church he later cited as his greatest early inspiration. A trip to Venice in 1618 introduced him to the Venetian painting tradition, reflected in the velvety, glowing colors of his subsequent work. Guercino is sometimes credited as the first Italian artist to paint in a fully Baroque style.

Pope Gregory XV, a native of Bologna, summoned Guercino to Rome during his brief reign (1621-1623). His fresco "Aurora" on the ceiling of the Casino Ludovisi is a spirited work painted to appear as if there were no ceiling at all, with the goddess's chariot seeming to move directly overhead. When the Pope died, Guercino returned to Cento. He moved to Bologna in 1642 after the death of Guido Reni, whose position as the city's leading painter had been unassailable, and remained there until his death. Guercino was remarkably prolific: he completed 106 large altarpieces and about 144 other paintings, and was also an accomplished draftsman. He never married, and his estate passed to his nephews. Today his works hang at the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery in London, and the Prado.