Dans l'atelier de Guido Reni

Exhibition at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Orléans, 30 November 2024 - 30 March 2025

Guido Reni (1585-1642) had a strong presence on the emerging Italian art market and was one of the most sought-after artists at the European courts in the first half of the 17th century. His solid reputation earned him the most prestigious commissions and a large clientele. He set up an imposing studio, which could house up to 60 or even 200 people from all over Europe, in order to cope with the many requests from artists wishing to learn from him, as well as from commissioners and collectors wanting to obtain a painting. Probably one of the highest-paid painters of his time, Reni's career was deeply marked by an addiction to gambling, leading him to lose almost everything at least once in his life.

This exhibition catalogue presents the workings of Guido Reni's bottega in all its richness and multiplicity, with several paintings studied in a new light thanks to a reflection on the painter's production and restorations. 

At the heart of the study is an iconography: David contemplating the head of Goliath. While this masterpiece by the painter has left a lasting mark on the history of Western art, its history remains complex. The case has recently been widened with the rediscovery of the version in the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans, long considered to be a copy. A masterpiece by the master, this painting adds a new chapter to the artist's interest in this subject, which was treated so many times during his career. All the known versions by Guido Reni or one of his collaborators are here reconsidered together.