Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Il Guercino (Cento 1591 - 1666 Bologna), Saint John the Baptist in prison visited by Salome

oil on canvas. 29 1/2 by 37 3/4 in.; 75 by 96 cm. Estimate 750,000—950,000 USD

NOTE: This recently rediscovered early painting by Guercino has been unanimously declared by the leading scholars on the artist to be an extremely important addition to his oeuvre. Dr. Erich Schleier and Professor David Stone consider it to be is an autograph work by the artist, and have further suggested that it is the second version of this much celebrated composition.

The scene depicts Saint John the Baptist in the prison in which he was thrown after rebuking Herod for marrying his brother's wife Herodias. The saint is visited by Herodias' daughter Salome who would later, on her mother's request, ask for John's head on a dish as a reward for her beautiful dancing at a banquet. The present subject is mentioned three times in old documents which have been discovered to date. Firstly, a picture described as "San Giovanni Battista con Erodiada" is listed in the will of a certain Stefano Scaruffi of Reggio Emilia on 28 July 1621 as "donatomi dal pittore Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, deto il Guerzino di Cento." Secondly, a picture of the same subject ("San Giovanni in carcere, mezo quadro bislongo, del Guerzino da Cento") is listed in the testament of Bishop (Marchese) Paolo Coccapani of Reggio Emilia on 3 December 1647. Lastly, a painting is described in a note written circa 1670 to the Sicilian collector Don Antonio Ruffo, probably from his agent in Rome, Abraham Brueghel, as "Del Guercino di p.ma maniera di 3 p.mi S.Gio. in prigione con una Donna che lo tenta."¹ The figures of Heriodias and Salome appear to be frequently confused in seicento texts, no doubt due to the fact that much of the story of Salome and Saint John the Baptist is apocryphal. The present scene does not seem to have been correctly identified until Erwin Panofsky pointed out in 1965 that there was a strong literary tradition of Salome's love for the Baptist.²

Five versions of Saint John the Baptist in prison visited by Salome are known and have been accepted as autograph by Sir Denis Mahon. In his 1968 monograph on Guercino, Mahon also lists several later copies; obviously, this composition was much admired in the 17th century.³ A painting now in a Private Collection in New York has been considered to be the prime version, partly due its numerous pentimenti, since it was sold London, Sotheby's, 8 April 1981, lot 70 and has been dated to circa 1618-21. Professor David Stone, Dr. Erich Schleier, Sir Denis Mahon, Professoressa Mina Gregori, Nicholas Turner from firsthand inspection and Prof. Andrea Emiliani on the bases of photographs have all independently concluded that the present painting is also an early autograph version of the subject. Professor David Stone has endorsed this opinion after recent first-hand inspection of the present painting. Stone, Gregori and Emiliani have all noted in particular that the beautifully sensitive treatment of Saint John's hands in our version are entirely typical of the master. Professor Stone has also noticed that the present work is not an exact replica of the New York version, observing that, whilst the pearls on Salome's headdress are all identical in the latter, in our painting the pearls decrease in size from left to right.

The above-mentioned scholars have all suggested that the present painting should be considered almost contemporary with the New York version as, stylistically, it is entirely consistent with other paintings by Guercino of this period before he leaves for Rome in May 1621. We can compare, for example, Salome's bejewelled hair with that of the saint in The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine in the Gemäldegalerie of Berlin (inv. 1/70) and the execution of Saint John's drapery with that of Christ in the Incredulity of Saint Thomas in the National Gallery of London.⁴ Professor Stone has also noted in particular that the rendering of the saint's ear is exactly what one would expect from a picture by Guercino of circa 1620. Schleier and Stone have both noted that the present version of this composition is slightly smaller than the New York version, which measures 78 by 100 cm., and may therefore have been slightly cut down along the top and right-hand edges. Despite the fact that less of the chain hanging from Saint John's manicles is showing in the present canvas, there is scalloping of the canvas along the bottom edge, thus suggesting that it was likely painted with this change.

The third, and perhaps the most widely-known, version of this composition is that in the collection of Sir Denis Mahon, measuring 83 by 99.3 cm, and currently on loan to the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.⁵ The Mahon version, once considered a contemporary autograph replica of the New York picture, is now believed to have been painted slightly later, probably in the mid 1620s, and Eric Schleier and David Stone have suggested that it is more likely to have been executed by a member of Guercino's workshop. The fourth version of this subject, with measurements of 92.7 by 111.1 cm, is currently on the London Art Market. A further version measuring 81.5 by 99.5 cm, appeared at auction at Semenzato in Venice on 2 May 2004, lot 94.

A preparatory drawing in black chalk by Guercino in the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo (see fig. 1) may be a study for the head of Salome and Denis Mahon believes that a pen drawing entitled St. Peter in Prison, Writing and Speaking to a Youth Outside in the Art Museum of Princeton University, inv. no. 59.36, may represent a first idea for the composition.⁶

The intrigue presented by this painting has been further enhanced by the discovery, through x-ray analysis, of an image of Saint Matthew and the Angel beneath the present composition which was subsequently covered over for reasons unknown (see fig. 2). It seems likely that the underlying painting is also an autograph work by Guercino since, as far as we can determine from the x-rays, the draftsmanship of the angel is, in the words of Professor Stone, "astonishingly confident and consistent with Guercino's hand." We can draw many comparisons between this under-painting and Guercino's paintings of this date, in particular two altarpieces executed for the church of San Pietro in Cento. The profile of Saint Matthew can be compared with that of Saint Peter in the Madonna della Ghiara with Saints Peter, Charles Borromeo and a donor and the angel's head can be compared with those flying at the top of the altarpiece of Saints Bernardino of Siena and Francis of Assisi with the Madonna of Loreto. Compare also the two angles in the Brisighella altarpiece (dated 1618) of Saints Francis and Louis of France in Adoration (see D. Stone, Guercino, Florence 1991, cat. no. 38). The build-up of the drapery can also be compared to that in the Denial of Saint Peter in a private collection in Zurich.⁷

Although, to date, no exact preparatory drawing directly relating to the composition of this underlying painting has been found, several drawings by Guercino with half-length compositions of Saint Matthew and the Angel from this period are known. We are very grateful to Nicholas Turner for drawing our attention to a study of Saint Matthew and the Angel in the Uffizi, Florence, inv. no. 3717S.⁸ This appears to be a preparatory study for a set of four drawings of the Evangelists which are now lost but which were engraved by Giovanni Battista Pasqualini (1595-1631) in 1618-19, a dating which is entirely consistent with the current expertise on our painting.⁹ The Saint Matthew from this series (see fig. 3) shares several features with the under-painting, including the close proximity of the saint's sleeve to the lower edge of the composition; the forward movement of the saint's shoulders and the position of his head; and the angle of the angel's head.

Eric Schleier and Andrea Emiliani have both noted that the fact that Guercino re-used a canvas already painted with a fully executed scene would normally speak in favour of the theory that the present work is the prime version of the composition. However, this appears to conflict with the stylistic evidence, and Professor Stone, after recently examining both the present version and the New York painting first-hand, has concluded that the latter is most probably the prototype, although he has speculated that Guercino may have painted our version soon after whilst the prime version was still in the studio.

We are grateful to Prof. David Stone, Dr. Erich Schleier, Prof. Mina Gregori, Nicholas Turner and Sir Denis Mahon who inspected the painting in the original and to , Prof. Andrea Emiliani on the basis of photographs for independently endorsing the attribution . Please note that copies of correspondence from all the above-mentioned scholars are available on request.

COMPOSITION ENGRAVED
Pietro Savorelli, 1786;
Damiano Pernati, 1799.

1. G. Finaldi and M. Kitson, Discovering the Italian Baroque: The Denis Mahon Collection, exh. cat., London 1997, p. 106.
2. E. Panofsky, Art in Italy 1600-1700, exh. cat., Detroit 1965, p. 98.
3. D. Mahon, Il Guercino. Dipinti, Bologna 1968, p. 124.
4. D. Stone, Guercino: Catalogo completo dei dipinti, Florence 1991, pp. 84 and 95, cat. nos. 62 and 73, both reproduced in colour.
5. G. Finaldi and M. Kitson, op. cit., p. 106-7, cat. no. 46, reproduced in colour p. 107.
6. C. Taggianti, Disegni dell'Accademica Carrara di Bergamo, Milan 1963, p. 42, no. 350, the former reproduced pl. CXLI and D. Mahon, op. cit., p. 124.
7. D. Stone, op. cit., pp. 56-7 and 79, cat. nos. 36, 37 and 56.
8. This drawing is unpublished at present but will be included in the Uffizi's forthcoming exhibition of drawings by Guercino in 2008.
9. P. Bagni, Il Guercino e i suoi incisori, Rome 1988, p. 16, cat. no. 11, reproduced.

Sotheby's. Important Old Master Paintings, Including European Works of Art. 29 Jan 09. New York www.sothebys.com photo courtesy Sotheby's