Art Institute of ChicagoPublic domain

The Entombment

Guercino · 1656

Analyst brief

What the record supports

"The Entombment," painted by Guercino in 1656, is an oil on canvas measuring 146.7 × 221.2 cm. The artwork is classified as an oil on canvas and belongs to the Painting and Sculpture of Europe department, representing Italian culture. It was acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago via the Wilson L. Mead Fund in 1956.

The painting's provenance begins in 1656, when it was painted for an anonymous "Cavaliere Veneziano." It was part of the Colonna Collection in Rome by 1783, and later sold to Giovanni de' Rossi after 1795. The work subsequently passed through several hands, including Sir Simon Clarke, William Buchanan, John Humble, and the Earl of Yarmouth, before being acquired by Thomas Bulkeley Bulkeley-Owen by 1818. It remained in the Bulkeley-Owen/Jacson family at Tedsmore Hall through multiple generations until Julius H. Weitzner, New York, sold it to the Art Institute in 1956.

"The Entombment" has been featured in significant exhibitions, including "Il Guercino" in Bologna in 1968, and a travelling exhibition between Bologna, Frankfurt, and Washington D.C. from 1991 to 1992. It has also been the subject of several scholarly publications and inventories since 1783. There is no information provided regarding auction prices.

Generated from the catalogue fields shown on this page. Nartmad does not assert attributions, valuations or prices that no cited source supports.

Provenance

Ownership history

Painted for anonymous "Cavaliere Veneziano," 1656 [acc. to Guercino account book, see Stone, 1991]. Colonna Collection, Rome by 1783 [no. 205 in 1783 inventory]. Sold from Colonna collection to Giovanni de' Rossi (Du Rubeis) [Mahon, 1968] after 1795 [listed in 1795 Colonna inventory]. Probably sold by Giovanni de' Rossi (de Rubeis) to Sir Simon Clarke, by 1802 [Salerno (1988), also engraved in 1802 by P. Fontana]. Probably sold by Clarke to James Irvine as agent for William Buchanan by 1803 [Buchanan (1824) pp. 117-118]. John Humble. Probably consigned by Humble for sale by F. C. DeBligney, London, March 15, 1809, no. 94 but likely bought in [Getty provenance index]. Sold at Humble sale, Christie's, London, April 11, 1812, no. 56 to Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, Earl of Yarmouth (later the 3rd Marquess of Hartford) for 430 guineas [Mahon, 1968]. Sold by Mr. Yates to Thomas Bulkeley Bulkeley-Owen (died 1867), Tedsmore Hall, Oswestry, England, 1818 [acc. Owen sale cat.]. Bought in, his sale, Christie's, London, April 30,1868. By descent to his eldest son, Bulkeley Hatchett Bulkeley-Owen (died 1868), Tedsmore Hall; by descent to his brother, Rev. Thomas Mainwaring Bulkeley Bulkeley-Owen (died 1910), Tedsmore Hall; by descent to his twin sister, Mrs. Rev. Edward Jacson, (Frances Marianne Eliza), Tedsmore Hall; by descent to her son, Rev. Owen Fitzherbert Jacson (died 1935), Tedsmore Hall; by descent to his son, Fitzherbert Edward Shallcross Jacson, Tedsmore Hall; by descent to his wife, Mrs. F. E. S. Jacson (née Ruth Henrietta Hanmer). Julius H. Weitzner, New York. Sold by Weitzner to the Art Institute, 1956.

Recorded by Art Institute of Chicago.

Exhibitions

Exhibition history

Bologna, Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, Il Guercino, September 1- November 18, 1968, cat. 99.
Bologna, Museo Civico Archeologico, Il Guercino. Dipinti e Disegni Il Guercino e la Bottega, September 6 - November 10, 1991, cat. 145; Frankfurt, Schirn Kunsthalle, November 30, 1991 - February 9, 1992; Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art, March 15 - May 17, 1992.

Literature

Published references

Catalogo dei Quadri e pitture esistenti nel Palazzo dell'eccellentissima Casa Colonna in Roma (Presso Arcangelo Casaletti, 1783), p. 32, no. 205.
F. W. B. von Ramdohr, Ueb r Mahlerei und Bildhauerarbeit in Rom II (1787), pp. 104-105.
William Buchanan, Memoirs of Painting with a Chronological History of the Importation of Pictures by the Great Masters into England Since the French Revolution, vol. II (R. Ackermann,1824), pp. 117-118, cf. p. 89.
Giampietro Zanotti, Felsina Pittrices vite d' Pittori Bolognese del Conte Carlo Cesare Malvasia vol. II (Tipografia Guidi all'Ancora, 1841), p. 337
George Redford, Art Sales vol. II (1888), p. 234.
Algernon Graves, Art Sales vol. I (Algernon Graves,1918), p. 385.
Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly Annual Report (Art Institute of Chicago,1956-1957), p. 52.
Federico Zeri, "La 'Salome' di Guido Gia in Casa Colonna," Paragone 121 (1960), p. 53.
Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago (1961, revised 1968) p. 208.
Denis Mahon, Il Guercino (Edizioni Alfa,1968), pp. 208-210.
Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, "Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, 'el Guercino' (1591-1666)," Goya 89 (March/April 1969), p. 284.
John Maxon, The Art Institute of Chicago (1970, revised 1977), pp. 261, 281.

Comparables