Guido Reni (Bologna, 1576- Bologna, 1642). He completed his apprenticeship at the Bolognese workshop of the Flemish painter Denijs Calvaert in which he met people destined to become famous painters such as Francesco Albani and Domenichino; he also studies Raphael and Dürer's engravings. Read the full biography
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Guido Reni (Bologna, 1576- Bologna, 1642). He completed his apprenticeship at the Bolognese workshop of the Flemish painter Denijs Calvaert in which he met people destined to become famous painters such as Francesco Albani and Domenichino; he also studies Raphael and Dürer's engravings. In 1594, after leaving the workshop, he took part in the Accademia del Naturale founded by the Caracci, where he had the opportunity to demonstrate his talent. Starting from 1598 he acquired his autonomy as a painter and, among his various works, won the competition for the decoration of the Palazzo del Reggimento, now the municipality of Bologna. In 1599 he joined the Council of the Congregation of Painters of Bologna. From 1601 he was in Rome although he continued his travels in his hometown. The artist's aim is the search for the ideal beauty of Raphaelesque descent, which knows the mediation of the Caracci and comes close, only to the point of touching it, to the naturalistic vision of Caravaggio. Between 1604 and 1614 he developed his own style in which priority was given to the harmony and balance of the composition. From this period are the frescoes of the Pauline Chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, the frescoes of the Sala Delle Dame and the Sala delle Nozze Aldobrandini in the Vatican, the frescoes of the Chapel of the Annunciation in the Quirinale. Among the masterpieces are considered the Aurora of the Casino of Palazzo Rospigliosi Pallavicini in Rome, the Massacre of the Innocents, the victorious Samson and the Portrait of the mother at the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna. Subsequent works such as Atalanta and Hippomene at the Capodimonte gallery in Naples, the Labors of Hercules at Luovre, Lucretia and Cleopatra in the Pinacoteca Capitolina in Rome, show the painter's artistic maturity. The latest works, such as the San Sebastiano of the Pinacoteca of Bologna and the Adoration of the Magi of the Certosa of San Martino in Naples, show a different way of representation, which is expressed through the use of a less lively color and less consistent forms .
