Madrid (EFE) Italian, addressed the same themes.
The works of Reni, defined in a press conference by the show’s curator David García Cueto as “an artist whose fame was widely disseminated” and was overshadowed by “nineteenth-century prejudices regarding the concept of artist”, rescue his legacy to At the same time, they show their influence on the Italian artistic panorama and in the Spanish Golden Age under the protection of the Counter-Reformation.
Coming from more than 40 museums, institutions and public and private collections in Europe and America, the works will show Reni’s decisive contribution “in the configuration of the European baroque aesthetic universe”.
Among the entities that have collaborated are The Royal Collection of London (“Cleopatra”), the Louvre Museum (“Drawing and Color”), the National Gallery of Ancient Art in Rome (“Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist” and “Penitent Magdalene”), as well as Notre-Dame Cathedral, which has ceded the painting “Job’s Triumph” just after its restoration after the fire.
Tour of all the work of Guido Reni
Through a journey from its beginnings in his native Bologna to its final stage, it will be possible to contemplate how the “Immaculate” of the Bolognese, ceded by the Metropolitan Museum of New York for the occasion, is confronted with the “Immaculate” of the Monastery of El Escorial by Murillo, in which the inspiration in Italian can be appreciated.
The same thing happens with Caravaggio’s “David defeating Goliath”, with whom Reni competed on his trip to Rome until they became enmity and to which he contrasts his “David with the Goliath’s head”.
The study of the body, reflected in the idealized figures of Jesus Christ and Saint John the Baptist, as well as the giants, the Virgin and elderly characters in later phases, will alternate with the representation of clothing and mythological figures, among which the two versions will stand out. from his painting “Hippomenes and Atalanta”.
The first, owned by the Capodimonte museum (Italy), will be exhibited together with the one belonging to the Prado, restored for the occasion, to which García Cueto has attributed “a slightly superior entity”, while encouraging the visitor to take your own conclusions.
Likewise, the exhibition will allow us to interpret some episodes in the life of the painter, such as his addiction to the game of dice and cards, which would make him simplify the line and the color palette in his final stage to produce more quickly and easily obtain income. .
The exhibition, open until July 9, is framed within the cycle dedicated to the Baroque to which the museum will dedicate the spring and which will be completed with the days of conferences dedicated to the painter on June 15 and 16.