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Madonna Sewing Surrounded by Angels

Circle of Guido Reni

Basic information

ID: Ж-2505
Author: Circle of Guido Reni
Name: Madonna Sewing Surrounded by Angels
Technique: oil painting
Material: copper oil
Dimensions: 29 x 21.6 cm (height x width)

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: religious
Plot: The Virgin Mary
Provenance: the Lubomirski collection
Exposition: Potocki Palace

Information about author

Author: Circle of Guido Reni
Country: Italy
Biography: Guido Reni was an Italian Baroque artist. He was born on November 4, 1575, in Bologna, Italy. At the age of 9, he was already studying in the Bolognese studio of the Dutch painter Denis Calvaert. Reni lived in Rome and Naples during his education but later returned to his hometown of Bologna. The artist is best known for his commissioned frescoes in chapels and oil paintings of biblical and mythological scenes. In his works, Reni employed vivid tones and smooth, idealised forms. For a time, the artist was influenced by the Caravaggesque painting style, as seen in his work "The Crucifixion of St. Peter" (1603, Pinacoteca, Vatican). However, Raphael and antiquity were the primary inspirations for his refined classical style, evident in his most famous work, "The Aurora" (1614, Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi, Rome) – a breathtakingly beautiful fresco on the ceiling created for Cardinal Borghese. Reni passed away on August 18, 1642, in Bologna, Italy. Today, the artist's works are kept in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), the Louvre (Paris), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), and the National Gallery (London).

Object description

This intimate scene is an adaptation of a fresco by Guido Reni. However, the dynamic colours, remarkably preserved on a copper sheet, bring the captivating composition to life. On behalf of his uncle, Pope Paul V (born Camillo Borghese), Cardinal Borghese commissioned Reni to create the fresco for the private chapel of the Annunciation (Cappella dell'Annunziata) in the Quirinal Palace. The original fresco is a large-scale work executed around 1609–1611, during the early years of the artist's life in Rome. Unlike this adapted work, the original fresco depicts two young angels surrounding Madonna and two putti flying above the scene. However, the main features that distinguish the iconography from more typical depictions of the Virgin Mary – her white gown, cascading hair, and focus on her sewing – are preserved in this artwork.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Madonna Sewing Surrounded by Angels

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