Reni, known by the epithet “Il Divino” (“The Divine”), is distinguished from his peers by his ability to depict the divine in visual form. His compositions are synonymous with elegance, beauty, and grace. As the Prado Museum’s digital brochure explains, the perfection of his work “was never considered the result of an innate gift, but rather the outcome of his massive effort in the search for perfection, a task in which drawing and coloring had to come together in harmonious symbiosis.”
Uniting Color and Design
The impetus for this painting’s allegorical subject matter can be traced to Reni’s early artistic education. He was born in Bologna, when it was one of Europe’s leading artistic centers, and he was guided by the city’s prominent Baroque artists Lodovico and Agostino Carracci. The brothers’ academy emphasized that painters should look to the Renaissance masters Raphael, Correggio, Titian, and Veronese and their more naturalistic style for inspiration. The brothers soundly rejected the contrasting artificial Mannerist aesthetic that was popular at the time. Thus, the academy promoted the congruent uniting of the artistic elements of color and design.
During the Renaissance, art theory treatises that expounded compositional rules, specifically for historical paintings with allegorical, religious, literary, or classical themes, were advanced and highly influential. The division over the importance of drawing versus that of color can be traced to the end of the 15th century.
In his book “Yellow: The History of Color,” art historian Michel Pastoureau explains: “For the painter, which is fundamental, drawing or color? This question ... prompted many debates, quarrels, and controversies. Most of the time, drawing prevailed: It is masculine and addresses the mind, whereas color, which submits to it, is feminine and addresses only the senses.” In a debate in which many picked sides, the Carracci and later Reni are notable for their promotion of equality for these two fundamental artistic features.
In “The Union of Drawing and Color,” Reni depicts drawing symbolically as a young man on the left of the canvas. The man wears an ochre cloak and holds a pen pressed against a sheet of paper. The allegory of color is portrayed by the young woman on the right. She holds brushes and a palette awash in colorful pigments. The ends of her lilac turban touch the man’s cloak. He embraces her and they gaze tenderly into each other’s eyes.
Reni’s Legacy
The exhibition “Guido Reni” assembles nearly 80 paintings and drawings by Reni, demonstrating the breadth of his oeuvre, as well as works from other artists to showcase his influential legacy. Many of the Reni works from the Prado’s permanent collection have been specifically restored for this show.
In his lifetime, Reni was seen as the equal of the celebrated Baroque artists Rubens, Caravaggio, and Bernini, but his work fell out of favor in subsequent centuries. The goal of the Prado’s exhibition is to reestablish the public’s understanding and appreciation of his meritorious work.
While Reni is remembered today predominately for the purity and classicism of his devotional artworks, there was much more to the artist and man that has fallen by the wayside. “Guido Reni” rectifies this lapse and returns the artist to his proper place in the art history canon.
