Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, il Guercino (Italian 1591-1666) Study of a flying putto Signed and dated by Sir John Charles Robinson J C Robinson/1859 (in ink to verso) and further inscribed From the Bouverie Collection/Guercino/No 510 ( to verso) Red chalk 20.5 x 17.1cm; 8 x 6¾in Provenance: By descent from the artist to the Gennari family, Casa Gennari, Bologna; Probably, Francesco Forni, Bologna; John Bouverie, Northampton (c.1723-1750) (L.325; stamp lower left); By descent to his sister, Anne Bouverie (d.1757), Betchworth, Surrey; By descent to her husband, John Hervey (d.1764), Betchworth, Surrey (no mark, see Lugt Supplement 2858c); By descent to his son, Christopher Hervey (d.1786), London and Betchworth, Surrey; By descent to his aunt (John Bouverie’s surviving sister), Elizabeth Bouverie (d.1798), Teston, Kent; By bequest to Sir Charles Middleton, later 1st Baron Barham (1726-1813), Teston, Kent; By descent to his son-in-law, Sir Gerard Noel, 2nd Baron Barham (1759-1838); By descent to his son, Sir Charles Noel, 3rd Baron Barham, later 1st Earl of Gainsborough (1781-1866), Exton Park, Oakham (no mark, see Lugt Supplement 2858c); His sale, Christie’s, London, 20 July 1859; Sir John Charles Robinson (1824-1913) (L.1433; lower left); Sotheby's, London, Old Master Drawings, 12 March 1963, lot 35; Private Collection, WiltshireThe present work is consistent in style and technique with Guercino’s studies for putti in red chalk of c.1635-1645. A similar example is in the Morgan Library and Museum (no.IV, 168b), the pose of which has much in common with our work. The Morgan example has been dated to 1636-38. From the same moment, is a lost Guercino altarpiece for Carpi of c.1637, now known through a copy in the Pinacoteca di Spoleto. Professor David Stone has noted the similarities between one of the putti in this work and our sheet, including the treatment of the right arm and belly, as well as the facial features. Although Stone does not feel our work is a preparatory study for the Carpi altarpiece, the comparison helps establish the attribution of the drawing and demonstrates the consistency of Guercino's types and ideas in this period. We are grateful to Professor David Stone for his assistance cataloguing the present work on the basis of photographs. A copy of his full report is available on request.
