The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 5 (of 6): From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth CenturyLanzi, Luigi
History
The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 5 (of 6): From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century
Lanzi, Luigi
Painting -- Italy -- History
The preceding commendations, however, will not extend to the whole of
Guido's works. His inequality is well known, but not owing to any maxim of
his art. It arose from his love of play, a failing which obscured his many
moral qualities. His profits were great; but he was kept continually in a
state of indigence by his losses, which he endeavoured to repair by the too
negligent practice of his art. Hence we trace occasional errors in
perspective, and deficiency of invention, a defect so much insisted upon by
the implacable Albani. Hence too his incorrectness of design, the
disproportion of his figures, and his works put to sale before their
completion. Yet these are not excluded from royal cabinets, and that of
Turin possesses one of Marsyas, a finely finished figure, before which is
seen standing little more than the sketch of an Apollo. To form then a fair
estimate of Guido, we must turn to other efforts which raised him to high
reputation. Among his most excellent pieces I am of opinion that his
Crucifixion of St. Peter, at Rome, is a specimen of his boldest manner; the
Miracle of the Manna at Ravenna, the Conception at Forli, the Slaughter of
the Innocents at Bologna; and there too his celebrated picture of Saints
Peter and Paul in the Casa Sampieri. Specimens of his more tender manner
may be found in the St. Michael at Rome, the Purification at Modena, the
Job at Bologna, St. Thomas the Apostle at Pesaro, the Assumption at Genoa,
one of Guido's most studied pieces, and placed directly opposite the St.
Ignatius of Rubens.
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