Paintings

This article forms an investigation of seventeenth-century Bolognese artist Guido Reni’s use of silk as a painting support. Despite the high cost of the fabric when compared to conventional canvas materials such as linen, Reni chose to utilise silk supports in several large-scale commissions. The article examines seventeenth-century descriptions of Reni’s works on silk, and suggests possible structural reasons for the artist’s choice to use the unusual support, including his reported belief that it was more durable than linen canvas, and investigates whether such a belief has any scientific basis. It also considers aesthetic and symbolic underpinnings that might provide explanation for this practice, including potential associations with Italy’s 1629–1631 plague epidemics.

This article examines a selection of paintings by Guido Reni (1575–1642) and his studio that display comparable stylistic, compositional, and technical characteristics, all of which have been ascribed dates loosely between 1620 and 1630. The works that form the primary focus of discussion include the recently restored Toilet of Venus at the National Gallery, London, Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife from the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, two versions of the Penitent Magdalene—one in a private collection, the other a later work in the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica in Rome—and Venus and Cupid from the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio. By means of visual analysis and, where available, the study of technical imaging, links between these works become apparent, which, in turn, provide insight into Reni’s production process and studio practices during this period of his career.

Publicado con motivo de la exposición El Hijo pródigo de Murillo y el arte de narrar en el Barroco andaluz, celebrada en el Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, entre el 21 de septiembre de 2021 y el 23 de enero de 2022.

Autores: Javier Portús, Aoife Brady y Elena Cenalmor.