Artwork Page for Venus and Cupid in a Chariot

Details / Information for Venus and Cupid in a Chariot

Venus and Cupid in a Chariot

1615–17
(Italian, 1591–1666)
Support
Cream(3) laid paper
Measurements
Sheet: 25.5 x 39.4 cm (10 1/16 x 15 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Two miniscule female forms appear at the bottom edge of the sheet and may pertain to an earlier idea for the composition or to one of many other compositions Guercino conceived for the commission.

Description

Giovanni Francesco Barbiere, called Guercino, was a prolific draftsman who used drawing not only to prepare for his many painting commissions but also to record and explore his ideas for future use. This preparatory drawing, made early in his career, reflects Guercino's nonlinear preparatory process and his simultaneous work on different compositions. It relates in format to the painted decoration at the Casa Pannini in his native town of Cento, but it features Venus instead of Diana as in the finished fresco. Guercino's combination of rapid and sure pen lines with ink wash, applied with expert variegation to create deep shadows and bright highlights, is a paradigm of the artist's exuberant high Baroque style.
A horizontally oriented ink and wash drawing on paper depicts Venus, a goddess with light skin tone, sitting in a chariot atop billowing clouds, leaning right to look down at Cupid, a winged child figure. A large chariot wheel rests beside her. Brown washes create depth and shadow, while red chalk lines are visible beneath the ink. Loose, expressive strokes define the figures, and a hazy wash suggests a distant horizon.

Venus and Cupid in a Chariot

1615–17

Guercino

(Italian, 1591–1666)
Italy, Bologna

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