Self-Portrait before a Painting of "Amor Fedele"
Historical Context
Guercino's Self-Portrait before a Painting of "Amor Fedele," painted in 1655, shows the aging Bolognese master alongside one of his works, asserting his identity as a painter. Self-portraiture allowed artists to control their public image while demonstrating their skill. By 1655, Guercino was the unchallenged leader of the Bolognese school, having succeeded Guido Reni after the latter's death in 1642.
Technical Analysis
Guercino's oil-on-canvas technique in this late self-portrait employs the lighter, more refined palette of his mature period. The face is rendered with honest, penetrating self-observation, while the painting-within-a-painting demonstrates his continued artistic vitality.
Provenance
Giovanni Donato Correggio [1608-1674], Venice, 1655.[1] Anonymous donation to Castle Hill, Ipswich, Massachusetts, property of The Trustees of Reservations, Beverly, Massachusetts; (sale, Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 21-23 May 2004, 3rd day, no. 1487, as _Painter Standing beside a Canvas Depicting Cupid_ by an unidentified artist); (Old Art Limited, London); purchased 10 February 2005 through (Carol Selle, New York) by NGA. [1] _Il libro dei conti del Guercino, 1629-1666_, Barbara Ghelfi, ed., Bologna, 1997: no. 493, entry of 26 April 1655. The painting is listed in a Correggio collection inventory under 1655 as: "Un quadro con l'Amor fedele et eterno con un bellissimo cane levriero et il ritratto del signor Giovan Francesco Barbieri ditto Guercino fatto da lui medesimo porto d. 3 costò d. 91:12" (Linda Borean, _La quadreria di Agostino e Giovan Donato Correggio nel collezionismo veneziano del Seicento_, Udine, 2000: 179).
