A young man, half-length, resting his right hand on a book

Details

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, il Guercino (Cento 1591-1666 Bologna)
A young man, half-length, resting his right hand on a book
with inscriptions 'F.B' (recto) and with inscription 'Guercino da Cento' on the backing
pen and brown ink, on brown paper, laid down on canvas
8 3/8 x 9¼ in. (213 x 235 mm.)

Provenance

By descent in the family of the artist's nephews Carlo and Benedetto Gennari, Bologna.
G. Vallardi (L. 1223), with associated red chalk number 'L.26' (verso).

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Nicholas Turner has confirmed the attribution to Guercino on studying the drawing in the original, suggesting that it is a late work by the artist. The drawing is also sold with a letter from Nikolaus Pevsner, written from the Staatliche Gemäldegalerie, Dresden, and dated 24 July 1925, which likewise confirms the attribution.
This drawing is mounted on canvas, suggesting that it was one of the group of drawings by Guercino which were framed and hung in the houses of his descendants in Bologna and Bel Poggio (N. Turner and C. Plazzotta, Drawings by Guercino from British Collections, exhib. cat., British Museum, London, 1991, p. 20).

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