Giovan Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino (Cento, Italy 1591 - Bologna, Italy 1666)

Born in Cento, near Ferrara, Giovan Francesco Barbieri, also known as Guercino for his pronounced strabismus, was largely self-taught, after a short apprenticeship in a local workshop.

Guercino’s style was strongly influenced by Ludovico Carracci, for figure painting, and by Caravaggio, from whom he took the dramatic chiaroscuro that comes to life in the strong contrast between light and shadow.

His first commission was in Bologna, in 1620, for the altarpiece of the Investiture of Saint William. In 1621, Guercino was invited by Pope Gregory XV to work in Rome; he was commissioned to paint a ceiling fresco Aurora, at Villa Ludovisi, for the Pope’s nephew.

He returned to Centro following the death of the Pope and rival artist Guido Reni, settling in Bologna in 1642, becoming the city’s leading painter until his death in 1666.

Photo UniCredit Group (Sebastiano Pellion di Persano)