St Sebastian Succoured by Two Angels

Guercino (1591 - 1666)

Fitzwilliam Museum

1617

This work belongs to Guercino's pioneering early works which show a fresh spontaneity. There is also a painting of this subject in the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum in Berlin. It has become evident that this work must be the prime original and the Berlin work is a respectable workshop copy. It is also thought that the body of the saint in this painting could well reflect Guercino's studies from the living nude made in the Casa Fabri (Professor David Stone). This work was acquired with the help of the Art Fund grant and an additional donation of £10,000 from Sir Denis Mahon, made through the Art Fund.

• Medium: oil on copper
• Dimensions: 43 x 32 cm
• Art Fund Grant: £100000 ( Total: £400,000; Export stopped)
• ArtFunded in: 1994
• Vendor: Simon Dickinson Ltd

Provenance

Possibly Sebastiano Fabri, Cento; probably John Humble; William Hastings; James Morrison; by descent to the Basildon Pictures Settlement at Sudeley Castle; with Siman Dickinson Ltd, London.

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