In the studio
of Guido Reni

from November 30, 2024
to March 20, 2025

AT MUSÉE DES BEAUX-ARTS

Guido Reni (1585-1642) was one of the most sought-after artists at the European courts in the first half of the ^17th century, and a major presence on the emerging Italian art market. His solid reputation earned him the most prestigious commissions and a large clientele. He set up an imposing studio to cope with the numerous 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 at least once in his life to lose almost everything.

In recent years, renewed interest in the artist has led to a fresh look at the multiple in the painter's studio. While the contemporary view of artistic creation most often leads to a pyramidal vision centered on an original and copies, the reality is very different. Reni's main biographer, Malvasia, reports that the painter's studio could gather up to 60 or even 200 people from all over Europe. The exhibition in Orléans presents the workings of the studio in all its richness and multiplicity, with several paintings studied in a new light thanks to reflections on the painter's production and restorations. An important section of the presentation will be devoted to David Contemplating the Head of Goliath by Reni and his collaborators, exploring the birth, development and legacy of a composition that was one of the most influential in ^17th-century Western European art .