Paintings By Guido Reni example essay topic

Guido Reni was an Italian painter of popular religious works and mythological scenes. He was born in Bologna and began to study painting at the age of nine; he joined the Carracci Academy when he was 20. His studies were rounded off by a trip to Rome in about 1600. He worked with Annibale Carracci (another Italian painter) in Rome, helped in the decoration of the Farnese Palace, the Quirinal Palace, several of the churches of Rome, but his greatest painting in that city is the ceiling decoration of the Palazzo Rospigliosi Aurora. From that moment on, antique and recent Roman art became his ideals. Reni's inspirations came from another famous painter by the name of Raphael S anzio.

He followed in the footsteps of Raphael and learned from his paintings. Guido Reni was from the wealthy and grand Baroque period mostly during the Seventeenth century. His style of paintings was popular in several European countries and regions, including the Netherlands, England, France, Italy, and Spain. Reni was one of the most popular artists during the Baroque period. In his early days he was "a colorist of great purity, a composer with dramatic force, known for the greatest masters of his time" (1600-1615: The Artistic Milieu of Rome and the Young Guido Reni (IFA / NYU, D. Posner) He alternated between living in his native Bologna and visits to Rome.

After Annibale Carracci's death (1609) he became the leader of the classical school of E milian painters. His devotion to this school can be seen in the frescoes he painted in Rome in around 1610 in the Quirinal Palace, the Vatican, and various churches (San Gregorio Mag no al Cielo). The large altarpieces he painted in Bologna were: The Massacre of the Innocents and Pieta dei Mendicant i both in the Bologna Pinacoteca Nazionale. These paintings mark the accomplishment of design, the ability to control and channel feelings, gestures, expressions, drawing, and color into a single, expressive, and flawless form. "He exalted the clarity of light, the perfection of the body, and lively colors in his paintings" (IFA / NYU, D. Posner). Toward the end of his life, Reni changed his style in his paintings.

His paintings became so "airy as to seem weak and were almost completely dull. He also used long, flowing brushstrokes and conveyed an atmosphere loaded with intense melancholy" (IFA / NYU, D. Posner). His masterpieces of the last years of his life were: Adorazione dei pastor i (1640-1642, London, Nat. Gall. and Naples, Ceros a di San Martino) Cleopatra (1640-1642, Rome, Pin.

Capitoline). Reni was an energetic and a skilful artist; he worked in silver point and in pastel, painted ceilings and walls in fresco, and numberless panel pictures. I think in his time he was probably one of the most popular artist in Italy, and in the eighteenth century he was popular in England. His work is in museums across the world and I think people will have more knowledge on his life and his work and will appreciate and learn from his art because when I started researching on this paper I had no idea on what artist to write about until I read about Reni and his masterpieces. I gained knowledge upon reading about his life and his artwork and wanted to include some of his paintings. Paintings by Guido Reni: This painting is from the ceiling decoration of the Palazzo Rospigliosi, Rome Aurora.

In this mythological painting, the Roman goddess of the dawn leads a parade of deities through a wonderful and alluring sky. When I first saw this painting during my research on this paper, I had to put this one in here because it's one of Reni's famous and known paintings in the world. My attraction to this painting was the wonderful combination of colors, the scenery and the serenity I got from looking at it. The artist beautifully blends in the colors and the way everything flows in the paintings is what caught my eye. This is Reni's one of the most famous painting and the large altarpiece he painted in Bologna The Massacre of the Innocents.

I also like this painting for many reasons. One, this painting tells a story of a massacre that might have happened during his time, which could have impacted his life in some way and inspired him to make this painting. This painting is very depressing to look at because people are suffering and dying. I don't exactly know the story behind this painting nor did I come across anything that would tell me what happened but in my opinion I think something tragic took place and Reni might have wanted to remember that part of his life or the event. Cleopatra was one of Reni's last paintings before his death.

This painting does reflect what he might have been going through before he died and the way he painted this lady sitting somewhere looking up as if she's almost waiting for her death. The lady in the painting is holding a snake, which could probably be a symbol of death or something. In my opinion, the colors he used in this painting are pastels, which could mean that his life was fading just like the faded colors in this painting. In his earlier paintings the colors were more vivid and full of life.