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Saint Apollonia was one of the virgins martyred in Alexandria (Egypt) in the third century, A.D. during the religious persecution of Christians. In this small plate on copper, the Bolognese painter captures the moment when two henchmen torture the saint, who is tied to a post, by extracting her teeth with large pliers. That explains why this tool (sometimes including teeth) is her customary attrib
This companion work to the Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia (P214) illustrates the subsequent episode, when, after violently pulling out her teeth, her torturers light a bonfire and threaten to burn her alive unless she exactly repeats their impious utterances. Instead, Apollonia prefers to throw herself onto the fire. Here, we see the moment when, in a state of ecstasy, with arms crossed over her bos
La historia de Lucrecia, escrita por Tito Livio durante el reinado de Augusto, sirvió para explicar el final de la monarquía y la instauración de la República del Estado romano. La heroicidad descrita por el historiador en la actitud de esta dama, ante una situación de injusticia y deshonra, la convirtió en ejemplo del orgullo civil en Roma. Lucrecia, esposa del cónsul Colatino, estando este últim
Esta obra representa a Santa María Magdalena y es una copia parcial de una pintura de Guido Reni conservada en la Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica di Palazzo Corsini en Roma (inv. 1437). La comparación entre ambos cuadros es lo que ha permitido identificar al personaje efigiado, pues en el ejemplar de la pinacoteca madrileña no aparece ninguno de los atributos de la santa, como es la calavera o el
En el centro, la Virgen coronada por dos angelitos, rodeada por la corte celestial. Abajo, ángeles músicos en las esquinas. El tema, para el cual se conocen algunos dibujos, fue muy trabajado por Guido en sus primeros años, con una cierta influencia de Aníbal Carracci en las formas torneadas de sus ángeles y en una monumentalidad grandiosa, que no es habitual en sus composiciones. Se conocen tres
Sebastian was a Roman soldier who suffered martyrdom for his Christian faith during the reign of Diocletian and Maximian at the end of the third century. He was made a patron saint of the city of Rome and his cult became popular throughout Europe as he was invoked in times of plague. Sebastian is usually shown bound to a tree and shot with arrows in what turned out to be a first failed attempt at
Inspired by Ovid´s Metamorphoses, this key work in Reni´s oeuvre tells the story of Atalanta, the daughter of Schoeneus, king of Arcadia. Seeking a husband, she offered to marrie anyone able to outrun her in a race. Suitors unable to do so, however, would be killed. Hippomenes was enamored of her and thus accepted the challenge with the help of Venus, who gave him three golden apples. He was suppo
This work depicts Saint James the Greater, who was Saint John`s brother and one of the Apostles closest to Christ. He witnessed Christ`s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, accompanied him at the Sermon on the Mount and was present at the Taking of Christ. The saint is shown at more than half length, wearing a green tunic and a yellow robe in a depiction belonging to the rich tradition of paintings an
A defining feature of Guido Reni’s art is his emphasis on the beauty of old age, evidently expressed in a different register to that of the splendour of youth. In this depiction of Saint Jerome the artist thus focuses on the greying hairs of the head and beard, the wrinkles of the face and the veins of the hands.
Sitting on a sumptuous chair, the Virgin tenderly contemplates the nude Christ child, whose expression is pensive and informal. Above them, two cherubs crown Mary. Michelangelo’s sculpture, the Madonna of Bruges has been mentioned as a possible influence, as both combine a carefree Christ child with a solemn mother.After Bolognese classicism went out of fashion in the second half of the 19th centu
The girl’s unspecific appearance suggests that it is not a portrait. It may be an allegory of the senses or of virtue. The canvas dates from the latter part of Reni’s career when he considerably reduced his range of colours. It was in the Spanish royal collection by 1666.
Reni’s contemporaries recognised his remarkable ability to depict the worn appearance of old age, contrasting with the youthful beauty of his female images. Saint Peter and Saint Paul (P00220) were in the collection of the 2nd Count of Castrillo, Viceroy of Naples between 1653 and 1659.
Reni’s contemporaries recognised his remarkable ability to depict the worn appearance of old age, contrasting with the youthful beauty of his female images. Saint Peter (P00219) and Saint Paulwere in the collection of the 2nd Count of Castrillo, Viceroy of Naples between 1653 and 1659.
Cleopatra VII (r. 51-30 BCE) was the sovereign of Egypt and the last representative of its final royal family, the Ptolemaic dynasty. Feeling that all was lost after her armies and those of her Roman lover and consort, Mark Antony (83-30 BCE), were successively defeated and the latter was killed, she chose to end her own life to avoid being captured by their mutual enemy, Octavian, the future Empe
Guido Reni`s painting shows a young Cupid facing the viewer, with the seashore behind him, his left leg bent and left foot resting on a slab of stone. Cupid raises his left hand to a dove and with his right hand holds his bow. The loosened bowstring indicates that he has been disarmed; his remaining arrows lie in a quiver discarded on the ground. The subject appears to be a variation of Love tamed
Amidst the rocks, boulders, stunted trees and an expanse of water with a city in the background, the Virgin sits with the infant Christ on her legs; he reaches forward to the hand and gaze of the infant Saint John the Baptist. Saint Joseph rests at her side, with his head on his hand. The appearance of the young Saint John is a departure from the canonical representation of the Rest on the Flight
