Despised in the nineteenth century on account of the aesthetic preferences of that era, later relegated to the sidelines by the one-sided concentration on his rival Caravaggio, Reni today no longer occupies the place he deserves in the public consciousness. In his own day, he was one of Europe’s most successful and most celebrated painters, sought after by such prominent patrons as the Borghese Pope Paul V, the Duke of Mantua, and the Queen of England.
A contemporary biography provides insights into his artistic activities in Bologna and Rome, but also his ambiguous personality: it portrays him as an artist both deeply religious and superstitious, both tremendously successful and hopelessly addicted to gambling. Whether his subject matter was the Christian heaven or the world of classical mythology, Guido Reni was unmatched in his ability to translate the beauty of the divine into painting. In cooperation with the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, the Städel Museum is bringing his fascinating paintings, drawings, and etchings together in an exhibition for the first time in more than thirty years, and thus offering a new perspective on his art.
