The Martyrdom of Saint James
Artist
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Guercino)
(Italian, 1591 - 1666)
CultureItalian
Date1627
MediumPen, ink, paper
DimensionsOverall: 7 7/8 x 10 1/4 in. (20 x 26 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number50.48.88
Not on view
DescriptionPen and brown ink drawing. Brown wash. St. James on the front, and the studies on the other side. Saint James is shown with two other men.Label TextGiovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino Italian (1591-1666) The Martyrdom of Saint James, 1627 Pen and brown ink, brown wash Museum purchase 50.48.88 In 1627 Guercino was contracted to paint the Martyrdom of Saint James for the Church of Saints Peter and Prospero in Reggio Emilia. Following his customary working method, he perfected the design for the altarpiece in a number of preliminary drawings, including the present sheet. In the drawing Guercino depicts the grisly moment following the saint's decapitation, when the executioner, his sword abandoned in the foreground, unties his victim's hands. Another prisoner, kneeling at left, awaits a similar fate. Among the greatest of Italy's early Baroque painters, Guercino is also celebrated as one of the premier draftsmen of the 17th century. With its calligraphic pen strokes and brilliant use of ink wash, the Chrysler's sketch proves the point to spectacular effect. ProvenanceDan Fellows Platt, Englewood, N.J., d. 1938; Mrs. Platt,1938-50; Chrysler Museum Purchase, 1950 Exhibition History"Master Drawings from the Chrysler Museum," Small Changing Gallery, The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, February 26 - April 23, 1989. "Special Exhibition," Prints and Drawings Gallery, The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, Fall 1989. "Giovanni Francesco Barbieri: Il Guercino, 1591-1666," Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna, Italy, Sept. 6 - Nov. 19, 1991. "Grand Designs: Preliminary Drawings and Oil Sketches from The Chrysler Museum," Prints and Drawings Gallery, The Chrysler Museum, April 2 - June 22, 1994. "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. Published ReferencesEric M. Zafran. _One Hundred Drawings in the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk_. Chrysler Museum. 1979. No. 16, 14. David M. Stone. _Guercino, Master Draftsman: Works from North American Collections_. Cambridge and Bologna: Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums and Nuova Alfa Editoriale. 1991: Plate H, recto; 221. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 90, fig. 106. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Guercino)
1624
