Head of Saint Francis, before c. 1632

Not on View

Medium

black, red and white chalk on blue laid paper

Dimensions

overall (approximate): 24.3 x 21.5 cm (9 9/16 x 8 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Accession Number

1972.5.1

Artists / Makers

Guido Reni (artist) Bolognese, 1575 - 1642

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Inscription

in later hand, lower left verso in brown ink: Guido Reni

Provenance

J. Richardson, Sr. (Lugt 2184); John Bouverie (died 1750; the Bouverie mark, Lugt 325, was probably applied at the time of the 1859 sale, below); his nephew, Mr. Christopher Hervery (d. 1786); his aunt, Elizabeth Bouverie (d. 1798); by inheritance to Sir Charles Middleton (1726-1813); by descent to his grandson, Charles Noel (1781-1866), who was created 1st Earl of Gainsborough in 1841 (sale, Christie's, London, 20 July 1859, lot 134); purchased by Allen, but remained in the possession of, or was acquired back by, the Earl; by descent within the family (sale, Christie's, London, 23 November 1971, no. 112); NGA purchase (via Yvonne Tan Bunzl, London) in 1972.

Associated Names

tan Bunzl, Yvonne, Ms.

Exhibition History

1925: Exhibition of Italian Art of the Seventeenth Century. Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1925, 46, no. 2.

1974: NGA Recent Acquisitions 1974, no. 30.

1981: Guido Reni: Zeichnungen, Albertina, Vienna, 1981, no. 105.

1982: Bolognese Drawings in North American Collections, 1500-1800, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, no. 38 (Catherine Johnston and Mimi Cazort).

2018: Heavenly Earth: Images of Saint Francis at La Verna, NGA, 2018.

Bibliography

1937: Kurz, Otto. "Guido Reni." Jahrbuch der Kusnthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien 11 (1937): 218.

1955: Kurz, Otto. Bolognese Drawings of the XVII & XVIII Centuries in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle. London, 1955 (and reprinted Bologna, 1988): 120, under no. 354.