17th-18th century Bologna School, following models of GUIDO RENI (Calvenzano di Vergato, Bologna,

17th-18th century Bologna School, following models of GUIDO RENI (Calvenzano di Vergato, Bologna, 1575 - Bologna, 1642) and GIOVANNI FRANCESCO BARBIERI "IL GUERCINO" (Italy, 1591-1666).
"Apollo and Kore".
Oil on cotton canvas.
It presents notable faults in the pictorial layer. With patches and restorations.
Measurements: 124 x 122 cm; 133,5 x 130,5 cm (frame).
The present work follows the pictorial models established by Guido Reni and El Guercino, two of the most acclaimed artists in the first half of the 17th century. It is a canvas that reveals the Roman and Romano-Bolognese influence of both artists, with an idealised, classical language, calm, structured compositions, elegant contours and a clear palette rich in pastel tones.
Guercino was born in the village of Cento in the province of Ferrara. The principal influences that shaped his style were the Bolognese; Ludovico Carracci, his cousin Hannibal Carracci and the Ferrara-born Ippolito Scarsella. Apart from a two-year stay in Rome during the papacy of the Bolognese Gregorio XV Ludovisi, he was active in his native town until 1642 when he moved to neighbouring Bologna. He was about twenty-five years old when he came to the attention of his first important clients, among them Cardinal Alessandro Ludovisi, Archbishop of Bologna; Cardinal Jacopo Serra, papal legate in Ferrara; Grand Duke Cosimo II of Tuscany and Duke Ferdinand Gonzaga of Mantua. By the mid-1620s he had turned down invitations to work outside Italy, from Charles I of England among others. He seems to have been reluctant to enter into direct competition with his Bolognese rivals, especially Guido Reni, who from around 1610 was the most celebrated painter in Italy. Most of his abundant output consists of altarpieces and easel paintings, but in the first half of his career he also painted frescoes in Cento, Bologna, Rome (the Aurora on the ceiling of the Casino Ludovisi) and the cathedral of Piacenza (1626-1627). His early "Tenebrist" style is characterised by dramatic lighting, saturated colours and agitated compositions. His stay in Rome led him to gradually modify his style towards a much more idealised and classical language, with calmer and more structured compositions, more elegant contours, a palette generally lighter and richer in pastel tones.
The undisputed master of Roman-Bolognese classicism alongside Albani and Domenichino, Guido Reni was undoubtedly the best of the three. Closely linked to the Carracci family and to the city of Bologna, they all had a similar career. They trained in Bologna with Denys Calvaert, and then went to the Accademia degli Incamminati, directed by Ludovico Carraci. In 1600 Reni arrived in Rome, where he worked with Annibale Carracci in the Galleria Farnese. His best period began in these years; in 1609, on Annibale's death, Reni became the head of the classicist school. In the city he was the protégé of Scipione Borghese, the future Pope Paul V, for whom the painter produced one of his most important works, "La Aurora" (Palazzo Rospigliosi). It reveals something that would always be characteristic of Reni's style, his admiration for ancient sculpture. Starting from classical statues, he developed an ideal of beauty and perfection that would be greatly admired by subsequent painters. In 1614 he returned to Bologna for good. Reni's style evolved in a clear direction, becoming more and more sculptural and cold, more and more fully classicist. His mature work was characterised by a cold, silvery palette. Finally, from the 1930s onwards, his style became sketchy, with an unfinished appearance and a tendency towards monochrome, of great interest from a technical as well as a formal point of view.Guido Reni is currently represented in the most important art galleries all over the world, including the Prado Museum, the Hermitage, etc.