Guido Reni
Bologna 1575-1642 Bologna

Guido Reni is one of the most brilliant of the Bolognese school, and his fame was so great that for at least two centuries he was known as Il Divino. During the 1630's he painted a series of Magadalenes on copper of which the present one is the most important. Its large dimensions and the quality of the copper employed would indicate a most prestigious commission. Reni knew how to exploit all the possibilities of this high quality copper to achieve a precise drawing and brilliant colors with a porcelain-like texture. Extraordinarily well preserved, the surface of this work reveals the great refinement of the artist and the spirituality which he achieves with such elegant intensity. The attribution was confirmed by Sir Dennis Mahon and Dr. D. Stephen Pepper. A provenance form the Salviati family was discovered by Philippe Costamagna.