Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 - 1642) Bottega/Seguace

The Archangel Michael Workshop/Follower of Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 - 1642) 17th-18th century Oil on canvas (104 x 68 cm - Framed 109 x 68 cm) Full details (Click HERE) The proposed painting, of high quality, echoes Guido Reni's famous Saint Michael the Archangel, created in 1635 for the Capuchin Church in Rome (PHOTO 1), erected through the donation of Cardinal Antonio Barberini (1569-1646), brother of Urban VIII. After intense training in Bologna, in 1602, the twenty-seven-year-old Guido Reni went to Rome, soon becoming a famous interpreter of the taste of the most influential cultural circles, and winning the protection of great figures such as Popes Paul V, Urban VIII and Scipione Borghese. The Archangel Michael, engaged here in the fight against Evil, is represented as a young man of rare beauty, strong and delicate at the same time who, with his unsheathed sword, pushes an irritated devil back to hell, whose head he tramples with his foot. The soft drapery envelops the angel's body with an intense classicism, where a balanced composition directs the observer's attention to his angelic face. Great was the recognition and esteem of contemporaries, and the painting immediately met with incredible success, also thanks to the controversies that arose from the Pamphili family, who had always been at odds with the Barberini, who commissioned the canvas. Reni, in fact, having learned that Cardinal Giovanni Battista Pamphili, the future Pope Innocent X, had defamed him, personified the Devil with the same's face as revenge. Guido Reni's astuteness was to exploit the historical competition between two of the most influential families in seventeenth-century Rome, the Barberini and the Pamphili, for his personal revenge, and at the same time giving his works sudden fame. Reni tried his hand at the execution of this subject on several occasions, highly appreciated by his clientele, thanks to the characteristics of formal cleanliness and overall balance of the composition that still make it one of the cornerstones of Roman classicism. With the help of his workshop he used to return several times to the same subjects, producing versions of his most successful compositions, which makes it difficult to distinguish between autograph replicas, workshop works, often enriched by his intervention, copies that become autonomous reinterpretations by some of his best students. We can say that the proposed painting is the work of an artist from the workshop or a follower of Reni, made after his death. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The painting is sold complete with a gilded frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet. We take care of and organize the transport of purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers. If you wish to see this or other works in person, we will be happy to welcome you in our new gallery in Riva del Garda, in Viale Giuseppe Canella 18. We are waiting for you! Contact us for any information or to organize a visit, we will be happy to answer you. Follow us also on: https://www.instagram.com/galleriacastelbarco/?hl=it https://www.facebook.com/galleriacastelbarco/