The triumph of Guido Reni and his legacy in Bologna

Guido Reni is one of the most iconic figures of seventeenth-century painting in Bologna where, having finished his time in Rome, he returned in 1614 laden with honours. Known by the whole of Europe as “the divine Guido”, he was the most famous painter of the Bolognese school in everyone’s eyes. His studio brought distinguished visitors to town and his fame echoed thanks to poets’ verses.

Explore the most important works of Guido Reni’s more mature years in Bologna, which reflect his unrivalled artistic contribution and the full expression of his style

Thanks to the success he enjoyed with the Roman Curia, having returned to Bologna, Guido Reni became the city’s pride and joy. In 1614, he was therefore commissioned by popular appeal to decorate the chapel which, having been built by Floriano Ambrosini, was home to the Ark of Saint Dominic in the Church of San Domenico. In the fresco, the saint ascends to the glory of heaven between Christ and Mary, celebrated by bands of musical angels. With very close ties to the Dominican church, where you could also admire the Massacre of the Innocents, now in the Bologna National Gallery, Guido was buried in the Rosary Chapel.

San Domenico Chapel fresco, Church of San Domenico, Bologna - ©Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Church of San Maria della Pietà became the setting for a tribute bestowed by the city on its painter. The Senate of Bologna commissioned the artist in 1614 for the monumental three-level altarpiece, which depicted the towered profile of Bologna in the foreground. Guido Reni received a huge sum of money and a gold medal for the work, now in the Bologna National Gallery and replaced by a nineteenth-century copy. The artist produced the Triumph of Job for the same church, but it was taken away by Napoleon’s troops and is still kept in Nôtre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Pietà dei mendicanti, Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, ©Sailko, CC BY-SA 4.0

Guido’s most popular picture is the small Madonna with Sleeping Child (also known as the Madonna of Suffrage), dated 1632 and kept in the Church of Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano. This very old church is a treasure chest of Bologna’s seventeenth-century paintings, bringing together works by Ludovico Carracci and his pupils, including Francesco Albani. In Guido’s painting, Mary holds her child, who has been gripped by a death-like sleep. Twice stolen and twice returned to the city, the image of Mary encapsulates the tenderness of Reni’s figures. 

Madonna col Bambino dormiente (Madonna del Suffragio), Guido Reni, Chiesa dei Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano, Bologna, ©Public Domain

In his more mature years, Guido Reni’s palette became lighter and his paintings turned almost ethereal. The painter’s final period can be seen in the Suicide of Lucretia, created in 1641 and kept in Palazzo Pepoli Vecchio. Having been raped by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of the King of Rome Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the virtuous Lucretia preferred death to the pain of the violation she had suffered. The year after creating this painting, on 18 August 1642, Guido Reni died at home on Via dei Libri (now known as Via Farini).

Lucrezia che prepara il suicidio, Guido Reni, palazzo Pepoli Vecchio, Bologna - ©Sailko, CC BY 3.0

Guido Reni was a tour de force on the art scene of his time. Between the 17th and 18th centuries, various painters drew inspiration from Reni’s experience. Just browse through the Municipal Art Collections to see for yourself. Here, Guido Cagnacci turns the ecstasy of Reni’s religious figures into a sensual Cleopatra, while in the paintings dedicated to the Stories of Achilles, Donato Creti examines the rarefied ideal of beauty that inspired Guido Reni.

Cleopatra, Guido Cagnacci, Collezioni Comunali d'arte, Bologna - ©PatER

Behind this trail around Guido Reni’s masterpieces in Bologna lies a city proud of its artistic genius, someone who was able to portray the grace and beauty of the seventeenth century in Italy and who is still celebrated today as one of the greatest painters of the Bolognese school.