(Cento 1594–1661 Bologna)
Saint Paul,
oil on canvas, 63 x 52.5 cm, unframed

The present painting can be compared to the Saint Paul by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, il Guercino in Paris, Musée du Louvre (INV 80; MR 264).

The saint is depicted in bust-length, holding his attribute, the sword, in his right hand. The colour palette is reduced to earthy brown tones, with colour highlights in the flesh tones and the bright red cloak. The figure is illuminated from the left by a light source outside the pictorial plane, which enhances the interplay of light and shadow.

Bartolomeo Gennari was the son of the painter Benedetto Gennari and married Lucia, the sister of the artist Guercino. He worked for the churches of Cento and the surrounding area. In 1633 he travelled to Modena with Guercino and the two artists maintained close relations thereafter. Bartolomeo followed Guercino to Bologna in 1643 and became his assistant. His style remained close to that of Guercino and their works are often confused. Among his major works are the Incredulity of Saint Thomas for the Chiesa del Rosario in Cento, now conserved in the Pinacoteca Civica di Cento, the Madonna and Child with Saint Felix of Cantalice (Pinacoteca Comunale di Cesena) and Saint John the Evangelist preaches to his disciples in the church of San Filippo Neri in Forlì.