06 Works , RELIGIOUS ART, Saint Mary Magdalene by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino- with footnotes #196

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Il Guercino
The Penitent Magdalene
Oil on canvas
Private collection

Estimate for 600,000 - 800,000 GBP in July 2009 

The Magdalene is portrayed here repenting her sins. She is shown in a rocky cove in the desert of Sainte Baume in Provence where legend has it that she spent the last 30 years of her life. She has with her three of her attributes, the whip, the book and the crucifix, but is devoid of her usual vase of ointment. The background is simple and does not draw our attention away from her. A shaft of light streams into the cave to illuminate the crucifix and we see that the saint has pulled down her tunic and with her right arm reaches over to whip the left side of her back. However, the right arm reaches across gently, without the force one might expect, and fits in naturally into the balanced composition. The calm of the scene is mirrored in the soft lighting and muted palette in which the highlights in her hair match the golden tone of her drapery, and the subtle plays of light and dark. Rather than through movement, the intensity of the scene is conveyed through the concentration on her face, especially noticable in the beautiful preparatory drawing. More on this painting

Guercino, actually Giovanni Francesco Barbieri; 1591-1666
The Penitent Magdalene
Oil on canvas.
118.5x96.5 cm.
Private collection

Estimate for 400,000 - 600,000 USD in January 2014 

This Penitent Magdalene is one of a series of five life-size paintings of saints commissioned by Cardinal Fabrizio Savelli in 1649. Savelli was appointed Papal Legate in Bologna on 1 September 1648, holding that position until 1651. 

The Magdalene is portrayed here repenting her sins, the penitent harlot.  She is shown in a rocky cove in the desert of Sainte Baume in Provence where legend has it that she spent the last 30 years of her life. She has with her three of her attributes, the whip, the book and the crucifix, but is devoid of her usual vase of ointment. The saint has pulled down her tunic and with her right arm reaches over to whip the left side of her back. However, the right arm reaches across gently, without the force one might expect, and fits in naturally into the balanced composition. More on this painting

Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri)
Penitent Magdalene contemplating a Crucifix, c. 1637
Oil on canvas
Private collection

Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri)
Penitent Magdalene contemplating a Crucifix, ca. 1624–25
Pen and brown ink on cream laid paper
18.9 x 21 cm (7 7/16 x 8 1/4 in.)
Princeton University Art Museum

During the Counter Reformation Mary Magdalene's penitential role was emphasized, as in this drawing, which depicts the saint adoring a small crucifix. Executed with deft strokes of pen and ink, this exploratory sketch demonstrates the ways in which the leading Italian Baroque painter Guercino exploited economical means for maximum dramatic effect, utilizing a graphic code of devices—zigzagging lines, clustered dots, and parallel hatching—to conjure the essence of female beauty and rapturous devotion. More on this work

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino
The Penitent Magdalene
Oil on canvas
44 3/4 x 36 3/8 inches
Private collection

Estimate for 500,000 - 700,000 USD in January 2016

Guercino depicts the Magdalene’s hair with remarkably fine strokes, highlighting the thick, waving tresses at her head and shoulders, down to the individual hairs that uncoil across her abdomen.  The crucifix at left is bound to the broken branch of a tree stump. The figure of Christ is shown from below and behind, and the shadows of the musculature in his torso and legs are expressed with impressive naturalism. More on this painting

Guercino, actually Giovanni Francesco Barbieri; 1591-1666. Successor.
The Penitent Mary Magdalene
Oil on canvas
65 × 55.4cm.
Private collection

The artist depicts the Magdalene’s hair with remarkably fine strokes, highlighting the thick, waving tresses at her head and shoulders, down to the individual hairs that uncoil across her abdomen.  The crucifix at left is bound to the broken branch of a tree stump, a device repeated in his Saint Francis in the Desert in the church of San Cetteo, Pescara (L. Salerno, I Dipinti del Guercino, Rome, 1988, p. 331, no. 260, reproduced).  The figure of Christ is shown from below and behind, and the shadows of the musculature in his torso and legs are expressed with impressive naturalism. More on this painting

Guercino, actually Giovanni Francesco Barbieri; 1591-1666
Saint Mary Magdalene
Oil on canvas
45 1/4 x 37 1/8 in. (114.9 x 94.3 cm)
Private collection

This painting is an excellent example of Guercino’s shift toward a less intuitive style in the aftermath of his sojourn in Rome. Transcending her contemplation of death and repentance of sins, the Magdalene looks heavenward in a rapture that is echoed by the shaft of light from the upper left. More on this painting

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri Guercino (1591-1666)
Title The Penitent Magdalene
Oil on Canvas
25 x 29 inches
Private collection

The painting is a religious scene of a penitent Mary Magdalene, her glistening eyes cast to the heavens and her hands folded in prayer. The artist has captured a wonderful lushness to her hair as it cascades down her gown. More on this painting

Mary of Magdala was a leading figure among those attracted to Jesus. When the men in that company abandoned him at the hour of mortal danger, Mary of Magdala was one of the women who stayed with him, even to the Crucifixion. She was present at the tomb, the first person to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection and the first to preach the “Good News” of that miracle. These are among the few specific assertions made about Mary Magdalene in the Gospels. From other texts of the early Christian era, it seems that her status as an “apostle,” in the years after Jesus’ death, rivaled even that of Peter. This prominence derived from the intimacy of her relationship with Jesus, which, according to some accounts, had a physical aspect that included kissing. Beginning with the threads of these few statements in the earliest Christian records, dating to the first through third centuries, an elaborate tapestry was woven, leading to a portrait of St. Mary Magdalene in which the most consequential note—that she was a repentant prostitute—is almost certainly untrue. On that false note hangs the dual use to which her legend has been put ever since: discrediting sexuality in general and disempowering women in particular. More on Mary of Magdala. More on The Magdalene

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666), better known as (il) Guercino, was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous naturalism of his early manner contrasts with the classical equilibrium of his later works. His many drawings are noted for their luminosity and lively style.

Being cross-eyed, at an early age he acquired the nickname by which he is universally known, Guercino, a painter of the Bolognese School. An early commission was for the decoration with frescos (1615–1616[9]) of Casa Pannini in Cento, where the naturalism of his landscapes already reveals considerable artistic independence, as do his landscapes on canvas Moonlit Landscape and Country Concert from the same era.] In Bologna, he was winning the praise of Ludovico Carracci. He always acknowledged that his early style had been influenced by study of a Madonna painted by Ludovico Carracci for the Capuchin church in Cento, affectionately known as "La Carraccina".

His painting Et in Arcadia ego from around 1618–1622 contains the first known usage anywhere of the Latin motto, later taken up by Poussin and others, signifying that death lurks even in the most idyllic setting. The dramatic composition of this canvas (related to his Flaying of Marsyas by Apollo (1617–1618) created for The Grand Duke of Tuscany, which shares the same pair of shepherds is typical of Guercino's early works, which are often tumultuous in conception. He painted two large canvases, Samson Seized by Philistines (1619) and Elijah Fed by Ravens (1620), for Cardinal Serra, a Papal Legate to Ferrara. Painted at a time when it is unlikely that Guercino could have seen Caravaggio's work in Rome, these works nevertheless display a starkly naturalistic Caravaggesque style. More on Guercino




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01 Work , RELIGIOUS ART, Guercino, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri's Angels weeping over the dead Christ - with footnotes #195

Guercino(Giovanni Francesco Barbieri)
Angels weeping over the dead Christ
Oil on copper
height: 36 cm (14.1 in); width: 44 cm (17.3 in)
National Gallery

In this picture, pure red and blue in the angel's sleeve and the sky, and pure white and black paint, are intermixed and blended with an earth colour to produce a wonderful range of ashen violets and misty ochres, against which the body of Christ on his luminous shroud glows like a golden-tinged pearl. The subject is a free version of the traditional Venetian theme of two angels holding up the dead Christ beside his tomb for the viewer's pious meditation; it does not illustrate any biblical text. The wounds of Christ are discreetly suggested. Pathos arises from the juxtaposition of beauty with grief, of close observation in the studio with poetic invention, and the borderline between them is as blurred as the melting contours between flesh and stone, feather and cloud. More on this painting

This small painting depicts a solemn religious scene. Two angels kneel in quiet contemplation next to Christ, whose body has been taken down from the Cross following his crucifixion. While the Gospels make no mention of angels alongside the dead Christ, two are said to have been present at his tomb on the morning of the Resurrection. Rather than depict the dramatic events of Christ’s crucifixion or resurrection, Guercino has created an imagined moment of grief and quiet reflection. Despite its small scale, the painting evokes a powerful sense of sorrow. One angel is overwhelmed with sadness, his head resting mournfully on his hand; the other looks intently at Christ. The earthy tones used are characteristic of Guercino’s early style. 

Works on copper, like this one, are usually of small dimensions and were primarily used for private devotion. The subject of Guercino’s painting, which encourages prayer and contemplation, reflects this. More on this painting

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666), best known as Guercino, was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from the region of Emilia, and active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous naturalism of his early manner is in contrast to the classical equilibrium of his later works. His many drawings are noted for their luminosity and lively style.

Mainly self-taught, at the age of 16, he worked as apprentice in the shop of Benedetto Gennari, a painter of the Bolognese School. By 1615, he moved to Bologna, where his work was praised by Ludovico Carracci. Guercino painted two large canvases, Elijah Fed by Ravens and Samson Seized by Philistines, for Cardinal Serra, a Papal Legate to Ferrara. These paintings have a stark naturalist Caravaggesque style, although it is unlikely that Guercino saw any of the Roman Caravaggios first-hand.

Guercino's early works are often tumultuous. He often claimed that his early style was influenced by a canvas of Ludovico Carracci that he saw in the Capuchin church in Cento. Some of his later works are closer to the style of his contemporary Guido Reni, and are painted with more lightness and clearness. More on Guercino




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01 Work , RELIGIOUS ART, Pacecco de Rosa's Saint Barbara - with footnotes #192

Giovan Francesco de Rosa, called Pacecco de Rosa
Saint Barbara
Oil on canvas
39 1/2 by 28 7/8 in.; 100.3 by 73.3 cm.
Private collection

Sold for 37,500 USD in January 2011

Saint Barbara, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Accounts place her in the 3rd century in Heliopolis Phoenicia, present-day Baalbek, Lebanon, and recent discovered texts in the Saida early church archives suggest her maternal grandmother is a descendant from Miye ou Miye village. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the original recension of Saint Jerome's martyrology.

Despite the legends detailing her story, the earliest references to her supposed 3rd-century life do not appear until the 7th century, and veneration of her was common, especially in the East, from the 9th century.

Because of doubts about the historicity of her legend, she was removed from the General Roman Calendar in the 1969 revision, though not from the Catholic Church's list of saints.

Saint Barbara is often portrayed with miniature chains and a tower. As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Barbara continues to be a popular saint in modern times, perhaps best known as the patron saint of armourers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives because of her legend's association with lightning, and also of mathematicians. A 15th-century French version of her story credits her with thirteen miracles, many of which reflect the security she offered that her devotees would not die before getting to make confession and receiving extreme unction. More on Saint Barbara

Pacecco De Rosa (byname of Giovanni Francesco De Rosa; 17 December 1607 - 1656) was an Italian painter, active in Naples.

He was a contemporary of Massimo Stanzione or, according to others, a pupil of him. De Rosa was influenced by his father-in-law, Filippo Vitale, also a painter: this is shown in his earlier works, such as a Deposition now in the Museum of the Certosa di San Martino. Also in the Certosa is a St. Nicholas of Bari and Basilius (1636), showing influences of both Stanzione and Domenichino, who was in Naples from 1631.

Attributed to De Rosa is a series portraying the Madonna with Child (one in Museum of the Certosa di San Martino; one in the church of Santa Marta, Naples; and one in the National Gallery of Prague). Of the 1640s is a painting, in collaboration with Vitale, of the Madonna with St. Charles Borromeo in the church of San Domenico Maggiore. His other works include an Annunciation in San Gregorio Armeno, St. Thomas of Aquino in Santa Maria della Sanità and the later Massacre of the Innocents in the Museum of Philadelphia and Diana Bathing in the Capodimonte Museum.

Among the artists thought to be in his circle are Girolamo De Magistro.

He died in Naples in 1656. More on Pacecco De Rosa




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01 Painting, Religious Art, Francesco Guarino's Saint Anthony Abbot and the Centaur, with footnotes # 51

Francesco Guarino
Saint Anthony Abbot and the Centaur, c. 1642
Oil on canvas
17 1/2 by 26 in.; 44.5 by 66 cm.
Private collection

Sold for 40.625 USD in Jan 2011

The life of St Anthony Abbot was popularised during the thirteenth century by Jacopo da Voragine's Golden Legend. Towards the end of his life, while on his way to visit St Paul the Hermit, who lived in the wilderness, St Anthony met a centaur who showed him the path to take. It is curious to see a religious scene interrupted by an element from Greek mythology. More on this painting

Anthony the Great c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony, such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets: Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. His feast day is celebrated on 17 January among the Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Coptic calendar. More on Anthony the Great

Francesco Guarino or Guarini (1611-1651 or 1654) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in the mountainous area east of Naples. He was born in Sant'Andrea Apostolo, today a frazione of Solofra in the Province of Avellino, Campania, and died in Gravina di Puglia. He was a pupil first locally of his father, Giovanni Tommaso Guarino, before moving to Naples to work in the studio of Massimo Stanzione. In Naples, like many of his contemporaries there, he was influenced by the style of Caravaggio. In his selection of models who appear to have been plucked from the streets of Naples, he recalls the style of Bernardo Cavallino, the fellow-pupil of Stanzioni. Among his masterpieces are the works for the Collegiata di San Michele Arcangelo in Solofra. More on Francesco Guarino




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01 Painting, Olympian deities, Wilhelm Kray's Eros ferrying lovers to Cythera, with footnotes # 50

Wilhelm Kray, (Berlin 1828–1889 Munich)
Eros ferrying lovers to Cythera
Watercolour on paper
30 x 53 cm
Private collection

Sold for GBP 6,875 in Jan 2008

In Greek mythology, Eros is the god of lust and love. In the present work, lovers are being taken to Cythera, the celestial island of Aphrodite.

Wilhelm Kray ( December 29, 1828 in Berlin – July 29, 1889 in Munich ) was a German portrait , genre and landscape painter and illustrator .

Kray worked as a goldsmith before 1848 . From 1848 he studied at the Royal Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin with Julius Schrader , Wilhelm Schirmer and Hermann Stilke . Between 1856 and 1872 he took part in the Berlin Academy exhibitions. In 1859/60 he was in Paris and visited the studio of Alexandre Cabanel and Paul Baudry . He then went back to Berlin, where he mainly worked as a portraitist. From 1867 to 1871 Kray was based in Rome. From there he made numerous trips to Naples. He became a member of the Deutscher Künstlerverein. From 1878 he lived inVienna and took part in the international art exhibitions in the Munich Glass Palace from 1879 to 1888 . More on Wilhelm Kray


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02 Painting, RELIGIOUS ART - Sir Peter Paul Rubens and Pieter Bruegel the elder's Christ and the woman taken in adultery, with footnotes #189

Workshop of Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Siegen 1577 - 1640 Antwerp
Christ and the woman taken in adultery 
Oil on panel
panel: 40¼ by 54¼ in.; 102.2 by 137.8 cm.
Private collection

Lot Sold for 107,100 USD in Jan 2023

This particular subject proved popular among Flemish artists even in generations prior. In his famed grisaille at the Courtauld Gallery, for example, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1529-1569) captures a full-length Christ kneeling as he writes the aforementioned admonition to the Pharisees in the sand (below). In contrast, here Rubens, using a vivid palette, depicts the figures half-length, a visual device that helps emphasize the scene's emotional dynamism. In Rubens' composition, Christ’s retort to the Pharisees is recorded in a Hebrew inscription on the head covering of the man at right. More on this painting

Pieter Bruegel the elder (c.1525–1569)
Christ and the Woman taken in Adultery, c. 1565
Oil on panel
H 24.1 x W 34.4 cm
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Grisaille or painting in shades of grey was traditionally used to decorate the outside of the folding panels of altarpieces. Bruegel has used it here in an display of skill, to be treasured by a private collector.

Watched by his disciples, Christ writes on the ground that he who is free of sin should cast the first stone at an adulterous woman. This biblical story challenged hypocrisy as well as demonstrating the virtue of mercy. More on this painting

Jesus and the woman taken in adultery –  is a famous passage found in the Gospel of John, that has been the subject of much scholarly discussion.

Jesus has sat down in the temple to teach some of the people. A group of scribes and Pharisees confront Jesus, interrupting his teaching session. They bring in a woman, accusing her of committing adultery, claiming she was caught in the very act. They ask Jesus whether the punishment for someone like her should be stoning, as proscribed by Mosaic Law. Jesus first ignores the interruption, and writes on the ground as though he does not hear them. But when the woman's accusers continue their challenge, he states that the one who is without sin is the one who should cast the first stone. The accusers and congregants depart, leaving Jesus alone with the woman. Jesus asks the woman if anyone has condemned her. She answers that no one has condemned her. Jesus says that he, too, does not condemn her, and tells her to go and sin no more. More on Jesus and the woman taken in adultery 

Sir Peter Paul Rubens (28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish Baroque painter. A proponent of an extravagant Baroque style that emphasized movement, colour, and sensuality, Rubens is well known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.

In addition to running a large studio in Antwerp that produced paintings popular with nobility and art collectors throughout Europe, Rubens was a classically educated humanist scholar and diplomat who was knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England. More Sir Peter Paul Rubens




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06 Photographs, Contemporary Interpretations of Olympian deities, Steven Irwin's Venus, Ceres, Persephone and Tellus, the Earth Goddesses, with footnotes #34

Steven Irwin
Land of Venus I
Giclée on Paper
 20 W x 20 H x 0.1 D in

Steven Irwin
Land of Venus II
Giclée on Paper
 20 W x 20 H x 0.1 D in

Steven Irwin
Land of Venus III
Giclée on Paper
 20 W x 20 H x 0.1 D in

Venus is a Roman goddess, whose functions encompass love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the ancestor of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor. Venus was central to many religious festivals, and was revered in Roman religion under numerous cult titles.

The Romans adapted the myths and iconography of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite for Roman art and Latin literature. In the later classical tradition of the West, Venus became one of the most widely referenced deities of Greco-Roman mythology as the embodiment of love and sexuality. She is usually depicted nude in paintings. More on Venus

Steven Irwin, United Kingdom
Ceres
Giclee on Paper
18 W x 24 H x 0.1 D in

In ancient Roman religion, Ceres was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. She was originally the central deity in Rome's so-called plebeian or Aventine Triad, then was paired with her daughter Proserpina in what Romans described as "the Greek rites of Ceres". Her seven-day April festival of Cerealia included the popular Ludi Ceriales (Ceres' games). She was also honoured in the May lustratio of the fields at the Ambarvalia festival, at harvest-time, and during Roman marriages and funeral rites. She is usually depicted as a mature woman.

Ceres is the only one of Rome's many agricultural deities to be listed among the Dii Consentes, Rome's equivalent to the Twelve Olympians of Greek mythology. The Romans saw her as the counterpart of the Greek goddess Demeter, whose mythology was reinterpreted for Ceres in Roman art and literature. More on Ceres

Steven Irwin
Persephone
Giclee on Paper
14 W x 14 H x 0.1 D in

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after her abduction by and marriage to her uncle Hades, the king of the underworld.

The myth of her abduction, her sojourn in the underworld, and her temporary return to the surface represents her functions as the embodiment of spring and the personification of vegetation, especially grain crops, which disappear into the earth when sown, sprout from the earth in spring, and are harvested when fully grown. In Classical Greek art, Persephone is invariably portrayed robed, often carrying a sheaf of grain. She may appear as a mystical divinity with a sceptre and a little box, but she was mostly represented in the process of being carried off by Hades.  More on Persephone

Steven Irwin
Tellus
Giclee on Paper
18 W x 24 H x 0.1 D in

The Italian deity of mother-earth, often called tellus mater. She was invoked during earthquakes. She was also invoked in solemn oaths as the common grave of all things, together with the Manes and with Jupiter, the god of heaven. Like the Greek Demeter, she was also the goddess of marriage, but was most revered in conjunction with Ceres as goddess of fruitfulness. Thus in her honour were held the festival of the sowing, celebrated in January at the end of the winter seed time, fixed by the pontifex to be held on two consecutive market days. The paganalia were celebrated at the same time in the country, when a pregnant sow was sacrificed to Tellus and Ceres. Besides these, there was the feast of fordicidia or hordicidia, at which cows in calf were sacrificed to her. This was held on the 15th of April to insure plenty during the year, and was celebrated under the management of the pontifices and the Vestal Virgins. The ashes of the unborn calves were kept by the Vestal Virgins till the feast of the Parilia, when they were used for the purpose of purification. More on Tellus

Steven Irwin is an award winning film maker and photographer. He's traveled the world in search of modern urbanscapes, iconic architecture and unusual landscapes.

His work explores the tension and coexistence of nature and the man made.

Photographic images are layered and juxtaposed to stage surreal, cinematic scenes rich in possibilities of interpretation: dream-like, elegiac, contemplative.

Steven's art practice consists of a rigorous exploration of cityscapes, urban landscapes and the fusion of human form and natural environments.

His work often references the early 17th century Vanitas compositions that consist of decaying objects, symbolic of the inevitability of death and the transience and vanity of earthly achievements. As well as customary Vanitas motifs, Steven depicts objects that have rusted - a contemporary representation of decay and mortality.

His skylines and iconic architecture have been modified and arranged to create abstracted scenes which consider the evolution of urban spaces.

Steven's work explores the effects of climate change on large city conurbations and depicts the decline of modern civilisation.

Curator Adriana Marques at Rise Art:

"Irwin's take on our dense urbanscapes remind us that even bricks and mortar don't last forever. These layered works test the boundaries of photography and bring a sense of organic vitality back to our cities. "

The artist uses both analogue and digital techniques, from scratched negatives and chemical staining to digital layering and blending, each created to form a unique and stylised image. More on Steven Irwin




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