Cesare Gennari (cento 1637 - Bologna 1688) - Saint John The Baptist

Cesare Gennari (Cento 1637 - Bologna 1688) - Saint John the Baptist

The painting is an interesting replica with variations from an invention by Guercino (Saint John the Baptist in the Desert)

Dimensions: 62x74.5 cm canvas; 80x94 cm frame.

Expertise: Prof. Negro Emilio

Antique frame

The son of Ercole and Lucia Barbieri, sister of Giovan Francesco, known as Guercino, he was born in Cento in the province of Ferrara.

He grew up in the Bolognese residence where the Barbieri and Gennari families, having left Cento, had settled between 1643 and 1644. He thus had the opportunity, together with his older brother Benedetto, to grow up alongside his uncle Guercino, of whom he became the most profound and passionate interpreter.

His collaboration with his brother on the Madonna del Rosario (Forlì, Pinacoteca Civica) seems to date back to his youth. In the works of the following decade, all strictly Guercino, so much so that they are often referred to the master, his touch gradually becomes more sensual and warm. From this period are: La Pace e la Carità (1661: Rome, National Gallery of Ancient Art, from Corte di Novellara; Bagni, 1986, p. 295); Maddalena nel deserto (1662: Cento, Pinacoteca civica, from the church of S. Maria Maddalena); S. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi con i ss. Alberto e Andrea Corsini (1663: Bologna, S. Martino Maggiore).

He died in Bologna on 12 Feb. 1688. He was given a solemn funeral, of which ample evidence has come down to us.