Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino, Study for a Hercules in three-quarter-length, beginning of the 1640s. Photo: CeciliaHeisser/Nationalmuseum.

Apr 14, 2016 07:00 UTC

New Acquisition: A Study for Hercules byGuercino

The Nationalmuseum has acquired a red-chalk figure study for a Hercules, inthree-quarter-length from the 1640s by the Italian Baroque artist Guercino.The drawing that in the 18th century belonged to the Swedish diplomat andart collector Count Carl Gustaf Tessin has thus been reunited with the mainpart of his drawings collection in the museum’s holdings.

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino, was born in Cento in theprovince of Ferrara in 1591 and died at Bologna in 1666. A leading figure inthe second generation of artists active in Emilia, he was inspired by the

reform of painting carried out by the Carracci around 1600. He was alsodeeply influenced by the High Renaissance artist Correggio, admiring hissubtle treatment of light and fluidity of touch. His indebtedness to Correggiois nowhere more apparent than in his red-chalk drawings. Impressed by theeffects of softness, luminosity and grace achieved by Correggio in thismedium, Guercino exploited its painterly softness to convey a lifelike qualitywith a mastery achieved by few other artists.

Studied from a model who posed in the studio, Guercino's Hercules portraysthe semi-god of classical mythology, the personification of courage andphysical strength, as a muscular bearded man, swinging his club above hishead as he strides forward, his naked body partially enveloped by swirlingfolds of diaphanous drapery. Born from the union of Jupiter and Alcmene,Hercules married Megara, the daughter of King Creon of Thebes, by whom hehad three children. These he killed in a fit of madness and, to atone for histerrible deed, he was given the famous twelve labours to accomplish. Hisusual attributes are the lion skin, a trophy from his first labour, and the club,obtained by uprooting an olive tree with his bare hands. The beauty ofGuercino’s drawing arises from his rapidity of touch and his ability to capturethe most delicate gradations of light over flesh, exploiting the warmth of hueinherent in red chalk.

Guercino’s drawings were generally made to clarify his ideas in relation to agiven composition before working with the brush on canvas. From documentswe know that during the 1640s he made several paintings of ‘Hercules’ inhalf-figure. Two paintings preserved in private collections share certainfeatures with the Stockholm study as well as with a later black-chalk study inthe Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The present study shows the model turnedto the left and lit from the top so that his raised right arm casts a shadowacross his face with its wrathful expression. It differs from the paintings inthat the figure is caught in mid-action, preparing to strike his enemy with asweeping downward movement of his club. The Oxford drawing shows themodel resting the club on his right shoulder in a pose closer to the paintings.

In addition to an unidentified collector’s mark, the sheet bears the mark ofCount Nils Barck (1820-1896), a Swede resident in Paris from 1840, whomanaged to acquire a group of important drawings offered as a Christmas giftin 1748 to Queen Lovisa Ulrika of Sweden by the Swedish diplomat and artcollector Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (1695-1770). Although not included amongthose drawings, the present study had at one time belonged to Tessin, wholisted it among the artworks sent home from Paris during his years as

Swedish ambassador 1739-1742.

Nationalmuseum’s purchase of this work has been made possible by agenerous bequest from the Wiros Fund. Nationalmuseum has no budget of itsown for new acquisitions, but relies on gifting and financial support fromprivate funds and foundations to enhance its collections of fine art and craft.

Press contactCarina Fryklund, Senior Curator, Collections and Research,carina.fryklund@nationalmuseum.se, +46 8 5195 4475Hanna Tottmar, Press officer, hanna.tottmar@nationalmuseum.se, +46 76723 46 32

CaptionGiovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino, A Study for Hercules, in three-quarter-length, 1640s. Photo: Cecilia Heisser/Nationalmuseum. 

Nationalmuseum is Sweden’s premier museum of art and design. Thecollections comprise older paintings, sculpture, drawings and graphic art, andapplied art and design up to the present day. The museum building iscurrently under renovation and scheduled to open again in 2018. In themeantime, the museum will continue its activities through collaborationsboth in Sweden and abroad as well as temporary exhibitions at the RoyalSwedish Academy of Fine Arts, Fredsgatan 12 and Nationalmuseum Design atKulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm. Nationalmuseum has partnershipswith Svenska Dagbladet and the Grand Hôtel Stockholm, and acknowledgesthe support of FCB Fältman & Malmén.

mailto:carina.fryklund@nationalmuseum.semailto:hanna.tottmar@nationalmuseum.sehttp://www.nationalmuseum.se/

Contacts

Head of PressPress ContactHanna Tottmarpress@nationalmuseum.se+46 (0)8 5195 4400

mailto:press@nationalmuseum.setel:+46 (0)8 5195 4400