Attribution: Reni, Guido Le Guide (Bologna, November 4, 1575 - Bologna, August 18, 1642) (Painter)
Workshop of : Reni, Guido Le Guide (Bologna, November 4, 1575 - Bologna, August 18, 1642) (Painter)
David holding Goliath's head
David holding Goliath's head
Production: 1600 - 1624
Area: Painting
Technique(s): Canvas (oil painting)
Dimensions : H. 228 cm ; W. 163 cm
Inventory no.: PE.1177
Photo credit(s) :
Camus, Christophe
Cartel
The quality of this work was only revealed in 2018, following its restoration by the Arcanes workshop through a sponsorship of expertise. Indeed, this painting had long been abandoned in storage at the Musée du Louvre and then at the Musée d'Orléans as a copy after a famous painting by Guido Reni also in the Louvre.
Although there is no certainty as to its commission, the painting is certainly documented among the possessions of Marie Particelli in Paris, part of whose collection came from her father, Michel Particelli, a member of Lyon's bourgeoisie originally from Lucca in Tuscany. On her death in 1670, the painting entered the collection of her husband and great collector, Louis Phélypeaux de La Vrillère, who installed it in his famous Paris mansion (now the Banque de France). The richness of the brushstrokes for the evocation of the fur, or the refined treatment of the light striking the idealized body of the young shepherd, are striking.
The drapery and orientation of Goliath's head are among the most important points of variation between the Orleans and Louvre versions. The position of Goliath's head is also important, as the only preparatory drawing for the painting (Preston) follows the Orléans version! The importance of the Orléans version is underlined by the infrared photographs: Guido Reni tried out several positions for the arms, legs and feet. This practice is common and often seen in the master's paintings, but the David in the Louvre has none of these repentirs.
The most likely hypothesis is that Guido Reni created his composition with the Orléans canvas and, at a very close second, created the Paris version.
Provenance
Collection Marie Particelli épouse de la Vrillère (?-1670)
Collection Louis Ier Phélypeaux de La Vrillère (1598-1681).
Balthazar Phélypeaux de La Vrillère Collection (1638-1700).
Louis II Phélypeaux de La Vrillère collection (1672-1725).
Purchased by Louis Raulin Rouillé from Louis II Phélypeaux de La Vrillère.
François de Mailly épouse de la Vrillère collection (1688-1742), widow of the previous owner.
Purchased by Louis Alexandre de Bourbon (1678-1737) from the latter.
Collection of Louis de Bourbon (1725-1793), Duke of Penthièvre, in the same hotel in Paris, then in the Château de Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, acquired in 1783.
Seized during the Revolution, 1794.
National collections at the Louvre Palace.
Deposit from the Louvre (inv. 540) to the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans, 1872.
Free transfer of full ownership to the city of Orléans, 2007.
Location
Museum of Fine Arts
2nd floor
Room: Italy and its influences in the 17th century