(Cento 1591–1666 Bologna)
Lucretia,
oil on canvas, 110.6 x 89.8 cm, framed

Provenance:
possibly commissioned in 1638 by Cardinal Ciriaco Rocci (1581–1651), from whom Guercino received the equivalent of 44 scudi on 18th August that year (see B. Ghelfi, Libro dei Conti, Bologna 1997, p. 93, n. 177) or possibly by Sig. Benaducio who settled his account for such a commission on 6th December 1638, paying 35 ducati (see B. Ghelfi, Ibid., 1997, p. 94, n. 185);
with Trafalgar Galleries, London, 2000 (as Guercino);
sale, Bonham’s, London, 4 July 2007, lot 47 (as Attributed to Guercino);
Private collection, England, managed by The Sir Denis Mahon Charitable Trust

Exhibited:
Cento, Pinacoteca Civica, Guercino e Lucretia. Un dipinto inedito a Cento, 12 September 2009 - 1 November 2009; and subsequently on long-term loan to the Pinacoteca Civica di Cento until 6 June 2012;
Vercelli, Museo Borgogna, September 2012- July 2013;
London, The Foundling Museum, In Focus Display. Handel and Lucretia, 17 September 2013 - 26 January 2014;
Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art, Guercino, 3 March - 31 May 2015, cat. no. 29;
Barnard Castle, County Durham, The Bowes Museum, The Power and the Virtue: Guido Reni’s Death of Lucretia, 26 October 2019 - 20 January 2020

Literature:
possibly C. C. Malvasia, Felsina Pittrice, Vite de’ Pittori Bolognesi, Bologna 1678, vol. II, p. 371;
B. Ghelfi, Il libro dei conti del Guercino, 1629-1666, Bologna 1997, p. 93, no. 177 or p. 94, no. 185;
N. Turner, in: D. Benati (ed.), Guercino e Lucrezia, Un dipinto inedito a Cento, exhibition catalogue, Cento 2009, n.p.;
D. Benati, Guercino e Lucrezia, Un dipinto inedito a Cento, exhibition catalogue, Cento 2009, n.p.;
N. Turner, in: K. Hogg et al. (eds.), Lucretia, Guercino and Handel: A Dialogue between Art and Music, exhibition catalogue, London 2013, pp. 15-19, fig. 1, ill.;
S. Watanabe (ed.), Guercino, exhibition catalogue, Tokyo 2015, pp. 76-77, no. 29;
N. Turner, The Paintings of Guercino. A Revised and Expanded Catalogue raisonné, Rome 2017, p. 533, cat. no. 244, ill.

This subject was popular with the collectors of works by Guercino, who, according to his Libro dei Conti painted several versions. Two recorded works may refer to the present painting: one delivered on 18 August 1638, to Cardinal Rocci - and another to Signor Benaducio, consigned in December the same year (see B. Ghelfi in literature). This association has been suggested by Nicholas Turner on a stylistic basis, since the present half-figure appears to be close to Guercino’s 1630s production (see N. Turner, Guercino e Lucrezia, Un dipinto inedito a Cento, Cento 2009).

The subject matter of the Roman matrona Lucretia, made it appealing for aristocratic brides as Lucretia embodied the ideal of virtuous woman and wife. The story of Lucretia is found in Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita. Lucretia was married to Lucio Collatino and her reputation was that of a pious woman. After she was violated by the son of King Tarquinius the Proud, Sextus, Lucretia preferred death to dishonour.

The present painting shows the influence of Guido Reni as well as Titian and the Venetian School. A gleaming light dissipates the darkness around Lucretia and reveals her resolute, yet somber gesture. Guercino does not convey the shame of the matrona, but her acceptance and her virtuous stoicism. The sensual character of Lucretia is also rendered in a subtle way, a hint more than a provocation: her nudity is covered, her bodice is merely unbuttoned in order to facilitate the extreme act that she is about to carry through. Guercino’s Lucretia is a woman of strong morals and uncompromising virtue.

This painting has an extensive exhibition history, including not only Guercino’s hometown Cento and the city of Vercelli, but also London, Tokyo and more recently Barnard Castle in County Durham. Guercino’s authorship has been recognised by Sir Denis Mahon, Nicholas Turner, Daniele Benati and Fausto Gozzi, who studied and examined the panting in the original, as well as David Stone, on the basis of a photograph.