New Advent
 Home   Encyclopedia   Summa   Fathers   Bible   Library 
 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 
New Advent
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > B > Giovanni Barbieri

Giovanni Barbieri

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

Giovanni Barbieri, called from his squinting, "Il Guercino"; a famous painter of religious subjects; b. at Cento, near Bologna, 2 February, 1591; d. at Bologna, 22 December, 1666. His parents were in very humble circumstances. It is related that he gave such early indication of his great talents that before he reached the age of ten he had painted on the front wall of his home a figure of the Virgin. His first instructor was Bartolommeo Bertozzi, and when sixteen he entered the school of Benedetto Gennari, the elder, at Cento. As a youth he had studied with great admiration a famous painting of Ludovico Carracci at the convent of the Capuchins at Cento, which had much influence on his work. Father Mirandola, head of the convent, took Barbieri under his protection, had him taught, and secured him commissions.

After spending some time in Bologna, where he studied with Cremonini and Gennari, the young painter went to Venice, where he received the counsels of Palma. At Ferrara he painted the portrait of the legate, Cardinal Jacopo Serra, who made him a chevalier. On the invitation of Cardinal Ludovisi, later Pope Gregory XV, he went to Rome. There he did the "Aurora" at the Villa Ludovisi, and his celebrated painting of St. Petronilla in the Capitol. After the death of his papal patron, Barbieri, refusing the invitations of James I to go to England and of Louis XIII to visit France, returned to Cento and established there an academy which was much frequented by foreign as well as native painters. He painted the portraits of the Duke of Modena, and after the death of Guido, whose style he imitated, he settled at Bologna, where he died, leaving much wealth.

Sources

Calvi, Life of Giovanni Barbieri (Bologna, 1808); Bryan, Dictionary of Painters and Engravers (London and New York, 1903-05).

About this page

APA citation. Van Cleef, A. (1907). Giovanni Barbieri. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02287a.htm

MLA citation. Van Cleef, Augustus. "Giovanni Barbieri." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02287a.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Susan Birkenseer.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.

Copyright © 2023 by New Advent LLC. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT