Enlarge

This painting, created in 1650 during the artist's late period, is a superb example of Guercino's work both in terms of its quality and its provenance. This painting is recorded in the 1650 entry in Guercino's studio account book as, roughly translated, "David holding head of Goliath made for Lodovico Fermi." Later, in 1680, the work appears in the Farnese family assets records as part of the collection of Ranuccio Farnese II, then Duke of Parma. Iconographically this composition is extremely rare. Unlike most views of David, boasting of his victory after vanquishing Goliath the giant, here David is shown in a very subdued state, in an introspective moment where he thanks God for his victory. The dark blue used in the background was a color characteristic of Guercino's works at this time, and it was a darkened version of lapis lazuli, a pigment traditionally closely linked to God and heaven. The use of this pigment evokes the internal conundrum of David caused by his spectacular victory. This painting was popular from the time of its creation and there are two extant copies of the work painted by Guercino's students. This is the best example of the Bolognese school during the Italian Baroque era in the NMWA collection. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 21)

Provenance

Acquired from Guercino on 12 October 1650, by Lodovico Fermi of Piacenza; In the Collection of the Farnese Duke of Parma c. 1680, and subsequently inherited by the Bourbon Kings of the Two Sicilies (Naples); John Udney, Sale Christie's, 25 April 1800, lot 46; Sotheby & Co., 9 November 1927, lot 5; Private Collection, Copenhagen, until 1982.

Exhibition History

1983

, Trafalgar Galleries at the Royal Academy III, London, 1983 - 1983, no. 6

1991

Guercino in Britain: paintings from British collections, The National Gallery, London, 28 June 1991 - 31 July 1991, no. 26 (entry by Michael Helston and Denis Mahon)

1991

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, Il Guercino, 1591-1966, Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna, 6 September 1991 - 10 November 1991, no. 128 (entry by Denis Mahon)

1991

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, Il Guercino, 1591-1966, Schirn-Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 3 December 1991 - 9 February 1992, no. 69

1993

, Trafalgar Galleries: XII, London, 23 November 1993 - 10 December 1993, no. 6

1995

I Farnese: arte e Collezionismo, Palazzo Ducale di Colorno, Parma, 4 March 1995 - 21 May 1995, Galleria nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, 30 September – 17 December 1995; Haus der Kunst, Munich, 1 June – 27 August, 1995, no. 110 (entry by S. Loire)

2000

Tanka at the National Museum of Western Art: An Encounter between Poet and Art, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 25 July 2000 - 29 October 2000, cat. no. 10

2007

Parma: Italian Arts from Another Capital City, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 29 May 2007 - 26 August 2007, V-19

2009

Tears of Eros, Casa de las Alhajas, Fundacion Caja Madrid, 20 October 2009 - 31 January 2010

Bibliography

1678

Malvasia, C. C. Felsina Pittrice, Vite de'Pittori Bolognesi. Bologna, 1678, p. 378.

1808

Calvi, J. A. Notizie della vita e delle opere del cavaliere Gio. Francesco Barbieri detto Il Guercino da Cento. Bologna, 1808, p. 125.

1841

Marvasia, C. C. Felsina Pittrice, Vite de'Pittori Bolognesi. Zanotti ed., vol. 2, Bologna, 1841, p. 331.

1870

Campori, G. Raccolta di cataloghi ed inventari inediti. Modena, 1870, p. 239.

1987

Bertini, G. La Galleria del Duca di Parma. Storia di una Collezione. Bologna, 1987, p. 249, no. 303.

1988

Salerno, L. I dipinti del Guercino. Rome, 1988, no. 272.

1991

Stone, D. M. Guercino. Il catalogo completo. Florence, 1991, no. 259.

1997

Ghelfi, B.; Mahon, D. Il libro dei conti del Guercino 1629-1666. Bologna, 1997 , p. 149, no. 430.

2000

Annual Bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 33 (April 1998-March 1999), 2000, Koshikawa, Michiaki. New Acquisitions. pp. 9-11, List of New Acquisitions. p. 48, col. repr.