Between 1612 and 1618, Giovan Francesco Barbieri, known as Il Guercino, painted four canvases centered on the figure of Carlo Borromeo, canonized in 1610 only twenty-six years after his death. This unique case defines the Archbishop of Milan as one of the most important figures of the new Catholicism. But Borromeo is also a moral guide who continued to inspire the second generation of painters from one of the most important and original artistic circles of the early modern period: Bologna. Through a symbolic reading of certain aspects of Guercino's canvases, this essay explores the historical motivations that influenced the hand and mind of a pictorial genius such as Guercino, who saw in Borromeo a fundamental moral and political icon
Carlo Borromeo simbolo politico del Guercino. Un esempio di simbolica nella ‘tetralogia borromea’ guerciniana
LEONARDO MASONE
2025-01-01
Abstract
Between 1612 and 1618, Giovan Francesco Barbieri, known as Il Guercino, painted four canvases centered on the figure of Carlo Borromeo, canonized in 1610 only twenty-six years after his death. This unique case defines the Archbishop of Milan as one of the most important figures of the new Catholicism. But Borromeo is also a moral guide who continued to inspire the second generation of painters from one of the most important and original artistic circles of the early modern period: Bologna. Through a symbolic reading of certain aspects of Guercino's canvases, this essay explores the historical motivations that influenced the hand and mind of a pictorial genius such as Guercino, who saw in Borromeo a fundamental moral and political iconI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
