Art Funded by you

Erminia Finding the Wounded Tancred

Guercino, 1650–1651

This scene is drawn from Torquato Tasso's great Christian epic poem 'Gerusalemme Liberata' where the crusading hero Tancred has emerged victorious but badly wounded from a duel with the Egyptian commander Argantes outside the walls of Jerusalem. His armour bearer has brought Tancred's lover Erminia to the scene, and she rushes up to his limp body, distraught. In Guercino's picture, the poignant emotion and drama of an instant is captured and frozen in time. This work was acquired after a public appeal from the National Galleries of Scotland with the help of the Art Fund grant and an additional donation of £24,000 from Sir Denis Mahon, made through the Art Fund.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Erminia Finding the Wounded Tancred, 1650–1651

Date supported

1996

Medium and material

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

244 x 287 cm

Grant

100000

Total cost

2043096

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