Saint Paul

1621

Moves to Rome, to the court of Gregory XV

Marchese Enzo Bentivoglio recommended Guercino to the newly elected Pope Gregory XV, the Bolognese Alessandro Ludovisi. His Roman years (1621–1623) were the most productive of his life; the portrait of the pope (now in the Getty Museum) dates from them.

1623

Returns to his native Cento

After the death of Pope Gregory XV, Guercino left Rome and returned to his hometown.

1623

Ottavio Leoni draws his portrait

The portrait emphasises the permanent squint that gave the artist his nickname. Guercino's right eye was apparently 'lazy' and he presumably had monocular vision — which did not stop him conveying depth remarkably well.

1629

The Barbieri household account book begins

From this year Guercino's affairs are recorded in the Libro dei Conti di Casa Barbieri, kept up with his brother Paolo Antonio, a notable still-life painter; the book survives. He worked with extreme rapidity — no fewer than 106 large altarpieces and some 144 other paintings, besides a great many drawings.

1642

Moves to Bologna after Guido Reni's death

After the death of his commercial rival Guido Reni, Guercino moved his busy workshop to Bologna and took over Reni's role as the city's leading painter of sacred subjects. He painted and taught to the end of his life, amassed a notable fortune and, never having married, left it to his nephews and pupils Benedetto Gennari II and Cesare Gennari.