Attributed to GIOVANNI ANDREA SIRANNI (Bologna, 1610-1670)"Lucrezia Dying".Oil on canvas. Re-drawn.

Attributed to GIOVANNI ANDREA SIRANNI (Bologna, 1610-1670)
"Lucrezia Dying".
Oil on canvas. Re-drawn.
It presents restorations.
Measurements: 100 x 76 cm.
This work presents the same composition as the Lucretia painted by the disciple of Guido Reni, Giovanni Andrea Siranni, who in turn was inspired by the work of Guido Reni of the same subject that belongs to the collection of the Dulwich Picture Gallery. In this work Lucrezia is depicted in the foreground, holding her right hand to her heart and plunging the dagger into her chest: an unwavering affirmation of her truth, demanding the viewer's attention to her oath. The legend of Lucretia tells that one day several men were drinking in the tent of Sextus Tarquinius, it was a dinner in which Tarquinius Colatinus took part, and their conversation turned to the virtue of their wives. Colatine, who claimed that his wife Lucretia was above the others, in search of the truth, the men visited several of the women until they reached Colatia, and there they found Lucretia, working the wool well into the night, and she was chosen as the winner for her display of virtue. The winning husband invited the young princes, at which point Sextus Tarquinius began to feel the desire to possess Lucrezia by force. After a few days, Sextus Tarquinius returned to Colatia with only one companion. Unaware of his intentions, they received him attentively; after supper he was led into the guest chamber, and taking advantage of the quiet of the house, for all were asleep, he drew his sword, approached Lucretia, possessed her, and departed, proud that he had taken a woman's honour from her. Dejected Lucretia sent a messenger to her father in Rome and her husband to Ardea. Spurius Lucretius went with Publius Valerius, son of Volesus, and Colatinus with Lucius Junius Brutus. They found Lucretia sitting in her chamber, dejected. When her husband asked her, "Are you well?" she replied, "No. How can a woman who has lost her honour be well? Lucretia, in order to forgive, plunged a knife she had hidden in her clothes into her heart, and bending over her wound, she collapsed, dying, amidst the cries of her husband and father. Brutus then tore the dagger from her breast and said: "By this pure blood, I swear before the gods that I will persecute Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and all his cruel family with fire, iron, or whatever means I can, and that none of them, nor any other, shall henceforth be king of Rome".
The undisputed master of Roman-Bolognese classicism alongside Albani and Domenichino, Guido Reni was undoubtedly the best of the three. Closely linked to the Carracci family and to the city of Bologna, they all had a similar career. They trained in Bologna with Denys Calvaert, and then went on to the Accademia degli Incamminati, directed by Ludovico Carraci. In 1600 Reni arrived in Rome, where he worked with Annibale Carracci in the Galleria Farnese. His best period began in these years; in 1609, on Annibale's death, Reni became the head of the classicist school. In the city he was the protégé of Scipione Borghese, the future Pope Paul V, for whom the painter produced one of his most important works, "La Aurora" (Palazzo Rospigliosi). It reveals something that would always be characteristic of Reni's style, his admiration for ancient sculpture. Starting from classical statues, he developed an ideal of beauty and perfection that would be greatly admired by subsequent painters. In 1614 he returned to Bologna for good. Reni's style evolved in a clear direction, becoming more and more sculptural and cold, more and more fully classicist. His mature work was characterised by a cold, silvery palette. Finally, from the 1930s onwards, his style became sketchy, with an unfinished appearance and a tendency towards monochrome.