'Beatrice Cenci' (after Reni)
manner of Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 – Bologna 1642)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1600 - 1699
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
749 x 610 mm (29 1/2 x 24 in)
Place of origin
Italy
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 732246
Caption
The original of this picture, one of the most celebrated pictures of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome is now no longer thought to be either of Beatrice Cenci or by Guido Reni. This was less because of its pictorial qualities, than because it seemed the very embodiment of the innocent victimhood of its supposed subject, who was executed, along with her step-mother and one of her brothers, for murdering her father, to avenge his incestuous rape of her.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, 'Beatrice Cenci' (after Reni), manner of Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 – Bologna 1642), a so-called copy of possibly from a version in the Palazzo Colonna, Rome. The picture shows the bust of a woman in white with a white turban seen from behind but turning her head round and looking outwards. The original of this picture in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome is no longer thought to be Beatrice Cenci nor by Reni but was one of the most celebrated pictures of the 18th and 19th centuries. This was less because of its pictorial qualities than because it seemed the very emodiment of the innocent victimhood of its supposed subject, Beatrice Cenci (1577-1599) who was executed, along with her step-mother and one of her brothers, for murdering her father, to avenge his incestuous rape of her.
Provenance
Acquired by Richard Colt Hoare 2nd Bt (1758 – 1838);given to the National Trust along with the house, its grounds, and the rest of contents by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 – 1947) in 1946.
Credit line
Stourhead, The Hoare Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
manner of Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 – Bologna 1642), artist