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135 - Giovanni Francesco BARBIERI known as the GUERCHIN (Cento 159…
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Estimate €80,000 - €100,000
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Description
Giovanni Francesco BARBIERI known as the GUERCHIN (Cento 1591 - Bologna 1666) Argante Canvas 86 x 76 cm Restorations Provenance : Anonymous sale, Venice, (Semenzato) 21 May 2006, no. 64, reproduced. Bibliography: N. Turner, The paintings of Guercino: a revised and expanded catalogue raisonné, Rome, 2017, n°318.II, reproduced. Nicholas Turner dates our painting to around 1645 and suggests that it depicts Argante rather than Mars, as has long been suggested. Another version of this composition is in the Uffizi Museum in Florence (see opus quoted above, no. 318.I). Four drawings depicting a man in armour - Mars or Argante - are also listed; Turner directly linked two of them to our work: one is in the Royal Library, the other corresponds to an Argante that was sold at Christie's in Paris on 23 June 2009, no. 25. The latter sheet resolves the iconographic question in favour of Argante, since a quotation added to the bottom of the work refers to the warrior Argante, a character in Tasso's Jerusalem Liberated. Argante, King of Jerusalem, is worried about the progress of the Christian army. He is the lover of the magician Armide, who decides to kidnap Almirena to keep the valiant Rinaldo away from the fighting. We would like to thank Mr Daniele Benati for confirming the attribution on photographs.
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About the sale Jewellery, classical and modern art
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Auction time 06/25/2026 at 1:30 PM
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