1. Guido Reni painted primarily religious works, but mythological and allegorical subjects.
19 Facts About Guido Reni
1. 2.
When Reni was about twenty years old, the three Calvaert pupils migrated to the rising rival studio, named Accademia degli Incamminati, led by Ludovico Carracci.
3.
Guido Reni completed commissions for his first altarpieces while in the Carracci academy.
4.
Guido Reni left the academy by 1598, after an argument with Ludovico Carracci over unpaid work.
5.
In 1630 the Barberini family of Pope Urban VIII commissioned from Guido Reni a painting of the Archangel Michael for the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.
6.
Guido Reni frescoed the Paoline Chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome as well as the Aldobrandini wings of the Vatican.
7.
Guido Reni was commissioned to decorate the cupola of the chapel of Saint Dominic in Bologna's Basilica of San Domenico between 1613 and 1615, resulting in the radiant fresco Saint Dominic in Glory, a masterpiece that can stand comparison with the exquisite Arca di San Domenico below it.
8.
Guido Reni contributed to the decoration of the Rosary Chapel in the same church with a Resurrection; and in 1611 he had already painted for San Domenico a superb Massacre of the Innocents which became an important reference for the French Neoclassic style, as well as a model for details in Picasso's Guernica.
9.
Circa 1615 in Bologna, Guido Reni created one of his most reproduced works, Saint Sebastian.
10.
Guido Reni painted Saint Sebastian a total of six times, though the 1615 rendition is arguably the most recognizable.
11.
Guido Reni's assistant was so badly wounded that he returned to Rome.
12.
Guido Reni, who had a great fear of being poisoned, chose not to outstay his welcome.
13.
In 1630, while Bologna was suffering from plague, Guido Reni painted the Pallion del Voto with images of Saints Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier.
14.
The so-called "Beatrice Cenci", formerly ascribed to Guido Reni and praised by generations of admirers, is regarded as a doubtful attribution.
15.
Beatrice Cenci was executed in Rome before Guido Reni ever lived there and thus could not have sat for the portrait.
16.
Guido Reni was buried there in the Rosary Chapel of the Basilica of San Domenico; the painter Elisabetta Sirani was later interred in the same tomb.
17.
Guido Reni was the most famous Italian artist of his generation.
18.
Guido Reni's most distinguished pupil was Simone Cantarini, named Il Pesarese, who painted the portrait of his master now in the Bolognese Gallery.
19.
Beyond Italy, Guido Reni's influence was important in the style of many Spanish Baroque artists, such as Jusepe de Ribera and Murillo.