Kimbell Art Museum Acquires Early Guercino Painting
By STAN PARCHIN
April 30, 2010
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Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) (Italian, 1591-1666). Christ and the Woman of Samaria (ca. 1619-20). Oil on canvas. 97.2 x 124.8 cm (38.3 x 49.1 in.). Kimbell Art Museum. |
The Kimbell Art Museum announced today its recent acquisition of Christ and the Woman of Samaria (ca. 1619-20), a rare early painting by Italian Baroque artist Guercino (1591-1666). Purchased from Manhattan dealer Adam Williams, the work is estimated to be worth around $10 million.
Christ and the Woman of Samaria is an exceptional oil on canvas composition by the largely self-taught Giovanni Francesco Barberi, called Guercino (literally "squinter") because he was cross-eyed. An admirer of Bolognese painter Ludovico Carracci (1555-1619), the northern Italian artist visited Venice in 1618, where he developed his talent as a colorist. Having attracted the attention of many secular and religious patrons, the prolific Guercino executed Samson Captured by the Philistines and The Return of the Prodigal Son in 1619 for Cardinal Jacopo Serra, the papal legate to Ferrara. During this same furtive period, he also painted Christ and the Woman of Samaria, perhaps for Cardinal Alessandro Ludovisi, the archbishop of Bologna (and later Pope Gregory XV) or for Serra.
The painting, its subject taken from the Gospel of John (4:5-42), is a close-up view of a powerfully expressive Samaritan woman staring at Jesus Christ while she rests her water bucket on Jacob's well. During their encounter, she struggles to understand the Savior's message that he is the living water, the source of eternal life. The work, never before published and exhibited, is marked by an astonishing degree of naturalism. Guercino's use of gesture, pose and theatrical lighting allowed him to achieve a quality of dramatic movement that characterizes the highpoint of his early career. The painting is notable for inviting the viewer to eavesdrop on Christ's private revelation to the emotional woman rather than simply observe the psychologically penetrating narrative.