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David with the head of Goliath

Maker

(artist)
1591-1666

Title

Date of Production

(circa) 1650

Medium

pen and ink (brown), wash (brown) on laid paper, laid down on a 'Casa Gennari' mount

Dimensions

Height: 18.7 cm
Width: 19.1 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.1363

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

Guercino often made radical changes to a design on the same sheet. Here he has significantly altered the position of David’s head. The wavy lines across his left cheek are the remains of the hero’s hair from an earlier composition. The range of pen strokes evident in this drawing is remarkable: from the dense web of lines articulating the head to rapidly scrawled marks used for drapery round the waist and right shoulder, the latter revealing the semblance of an arm.

Provenance

by descent to the artist's nephews, Benedetto Gennari (1633-1715) and Cesare Gennari (1637-1688), 1666; by descent to Cesare’s sons, Gianfrancesco Gennari (1671-1727) and Filippo Antonio Gennari (1677-1751), 1719; by descent to Gianfrancesco's son, Carlo Gennari (1716-1790); presumably Francesco Forni, Bologna (18th century) or Abbé Bonducci, Florence (18th century); presumably acquired from either of those by John Bouverie, England (ca. 1722/1723-1750), 1741 or 1745; by descent to his sister, Anne Hervey (d. 1757); by descent to her son, Christopher Hervey (d. 1786); by descent to his aunt, Elizabeth Bouverie (d. 1798); by descent to Sir Charles Middleton, later 1st Baron Barham (1726-1813); by descent to his son-in-law, Sir Gerard Noel, 2nd Baron Barham (1759-1838); by descent to his son, Charles Noel, later 1st Earl of Gainsborough (1781-1866); by descent to Charles Noel, 3rd Earl of Gainsborough (1850-1926); his sale, Christie's (London), 27 July 1922, part of lot 81 (a box containing 68 drawings by Guercino and others); purchased there by F.R. Meatyard (London) on behalf of Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b (£90 for the lot); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Guercino - Mind to Paper, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 22/02/2007-13/05/2007

Guercino - Mind to Paper, J Paul Getty Museum & Los Angeles & California & USA, 24/10/2006-21/01/2007

Literature

Guercino: Mind to paper, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Courtauld Gallery, London, 2006-2007 Los Angeles, 2006
no. 33
Fig. p. 92

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: none.

Collector's mark: collector's mark of Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b)

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