A Grain Merchant

c. 1620

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino

Associated Names
Guercino

Artist, Bolognese, 1591 - 1666

The image is a drawing depicting a man shown from the waist up. He is positioned with his body slightly tilted and leaning on something with his left hand holding a long object that resembles a staff or spear. His facial features are rendered with a mustache and closely shaved beard, and his hair appears to be combed back. The man is wearing a belted, long-sleeved garment that has a slight V-neck opening. He is also wearing a simple necklace. The background is plain, with a textured surface that gives a sense of depth but contains no specific elements or scenery.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black chalk heightened with white on laid paper prepared with brown wash

  • Credit Line

    Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 40.5 x 27.9 cm (15 15/16 x 11 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1974.102.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Jan van Rijmsdijk; John Thane (Lugt 1544); Thomas Dimsdale (Lugt 2426); Samuel Woodburn, London; Sir Thomas Lawrence; repurchased by Samuel Woodburn from Lawrence's estate; Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere (Lugt 2710b) and by descent (Sale, Sotheby's, London, 11 July 1972, no. 95 (as a "Fisherman"); (Thomas Agnew & Sons, London); NGA purchase in 1974.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1836

  • Sixth exhibition. A Catalogue of One Hundred Original Drawings by Ludovico, Agostino, and Annibal Carracci, 1836, "The Lawrence Gallery" (at Mr. Woodburn's Gallery), no. 94 (as Annibale Carracci).

1953

  • Drawings by Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1953: no. 156 (as Annibale Carracci).

1954

  • The Ellesmere Collection of Old Master Drawings, Leicester Museums and Art Gallery, 1954: no. 105.

1955

  • Drawings by the Carracci and Other Masters from the Collection of the Earl of Ellesmere, P. & D. Colnaghi, London, 1955: no. 41.

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, p. 70-71 (as A Fisherman with His Net).

1991

  • Guercino, Master Draftsman: Works from North American Collections, Sackler Museum, Harvard Unviersity, Cambridge, 1991; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, and Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991, no. 78.

Bibliography

1898

  • Catalogue of the Ellesmere Collection of Drawings at Bridgewater House. London, 1898: no. 83 (as Annibale Carracci).

1934

  • Bodmer, Heinrich. "Drawings by the Carracci: An Aesthetic Analysis," Old Master Drawings, (March 1934): plate 61 (as Annibale Carracci).

1955

  • Sutton, Denys. "The Carracci as Draughtsmen," Country Life (3 Feb. 1955): 317.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 671, no. 1071, color repro., as A Fisherman with His Net.

1991

  • Turner, Nicholas. In exh. cat. Guercino: Drawings from Windsor Castle, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1991: 38, under no. 10.

  • Tuyll van Serooskerken, Carel van, in exh. cat. Guercino (1591-1666): Drawings from Dutch Collections, Teylersmuseum, Haarlem, 1991: 146, under no. 62.

  • David Stone. "Supplement: Guercino Drawings in North American Collections, A Selective Checklist," in exh. cat. Guercino, Master Draftsman, Works from North American Collections. Harvard University and elsewhere, 1991: 222, no. 160.

Inscriptions

in later hand, lower left in brown ink: [?]; center verso in graphite: A Carracci; lower center verso in graphite: No 14/+3

Wikidata ID

Q64572420

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