Lot 2058 N α

This painting depicts Guercino’s first version of this theme from the year 1649. It shows the Old Testament narrative in a half-figural composition which is characterized by classicist clarity and narrative density and is exemplary for the later work of the Bolognese master.
The incident is presented in the Book of Samuel (II, 13-14) of the Old Testament. Amnon, David’s first-born, covets his half-sister Tamar. In order to be alone with her, Amnon pretends to be ill and has Tamar brought to take care of him. When they are alone, he rapes her, accuses her of incest and expels her. Neither David nor Abshalom, Tamar’s brother and David’s third son, punish Amnon for his actions. Later, however, Abshalom has him killed at a banquet.

Guercino depicts the moment when Amnon expels Tamar. Amnon is shown in profile and only sparsely clad in a blue robe. With a powerful gesture of the arm, he sends Tamar away. The serious expression, upright posture and the clenched fists show his cold determination. Tamar, also half undressed, is about to leave, but turns to Amnon once more and looks sadly at him. Guercino concentrates the depiction on the juxtaposition of the two figures, with only the bed behind them defining the pictorial space. The drama of the event is heightened by the clarity of the composition, but also by the sublime classical poses of the figures. The genesis of this composition can be seen on comparison with the painting with Guercino’s preliminary drawing from 1649 (cf. fig. 1; National Gallery of Art, Washington, inv. no. 1989.14.1). In this red chalk drawing, the figures are reversed, but above all the event is more scenic, and moreover, the formal rigour and psychological density of the painting is missing.
"Amnon and Tamar“ is a later work by Guercino. After the death of Guido Reni in 1642, he became the undisputed leading painter in Bologna receiving numerous commissions from Italian princes, such as the Duke of Modena and Reggio, but also from the Bolognese nobility. This late work, as Mahon explained (Frankfurt 1991, op. cit. p. 246f), is characterized by a ‚classicist‘ pictorial language and a fine pastel-like palette, as can also be seen in the present work.

Based on Guercino’s workbook, the Libro dei conti, as well as the explanations of the Bolognese art historian Carlo Cesare Malvasia in his famous „Felsina Pittrice“, the history of the genesis and reception of this painting can be reconstructed exactly (Salerno 1988, op. cit. p. 332-333, under nos. 261-262, and p. 334, no. 263; Mahon in Frankfurt 1991, op. cit. p. 300-301). Accordingly, in 1649 Gercino painted the two Old Testament scenes "Amnon and Tamar“ and "Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar“ for Aurelio Zanoletti of Reggio. On 28 January 1650, however, he received a visit from a certain Girolamo Bavosi who urged Guercino to sell him the painting “Amnon and Tamar”. Bavosi acquired the painting together with an "Apollo and Daphne“ by the artist and brought both works to Venice (cf. Malvasia 1678, op. cit., p. 376: "Un Gioseffo fuggitivo dalla moglie di Putifar al Sig. Aurelio Zanoletti; & al medemo un quadro con Amnone, quando discaccia la violata Tamar. Questo quadro fù ceduto al Sig. Girolamo Bavosi, che l'inviò a Venetia con un altro di Apollo di Dafne.“).
Guercio later produced a second version of "Amnon and Tamar“, which together with "Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar“ was delivered to Aurelio Zanoletti. For a long time they were in the collection of the Marquis of Londonderry, and are today housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington (cf. fig. 2; National Gallery of Art, Washington, inv. no. 1986.17.2).

Ill. 1: Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino, Amnon and Tamar, 1649, red chalk on paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Ill. 2: Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, 1649, National Gallery of Art, Washington