Guercino et in arcadia ego

17th-century painter of the Italian Seicento

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),^[1] better known as (il) Guercino^[2] (Italian pronunciation:[ɡwerˈtʃiːno]^ⓘ), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous naturalism of his early manner contrasts with the classical equilibrium of his later works. His many drawings are noted for their luminosity and lively style.

Biography

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri was born into a family of peasant farmers in Cento, a town in the Po Valley mid-way between Bologna and Ferrara.^[4] Being cross-eyed, at an early age he acquired the nickname by which he is universally known, Guercino (a diminutive of the Italian noun guercio, meaning 'squinter').^[5] Mainly self-taught, at the age of 16, he worked as apprentice in the shop of Benedetto Gennari, a painter of Biography books for 4th graders.