Reni, Guido

Reni, Guido an eminent Italian painter, was born at Bologna in 1575, and first studied, under Denys Calvert; afterwards entered the school of the Caracci, and was a brilliant pupil. He soon acquired distinction, and early executed some fine works, particularly his picture of St. Benedict in the Desert, for the cloister of San Michele, in Bosco. He afterwards went to Rome, and executed the Martyrdomo of St. Cecilia, for the church of that saint, and the Crucifixion of St. Peter also. He now rose rapidly in public estimation. His most celebrated works in the palaces at. Rome are his Magdalen, in the Barberini collection, and his fresco of Aurora. The paintings of Guido are numerous, and are to be found in all the principal collections in Italy and throughout Europe. He ruined himself by gambling, and died at Bologna, August 18, 1642. To form a fair estimate of his powers, we are to judge by his best pictures, such as The Magdalen, at Rome; The Miracle of the. Manna, at Ravenna; The Conception, at Forli; The Murder of the Innocents, and The Repentance of St. Peter, at Bologna; The Purification,

at Modena; and The Assumption, at Genoa, with many other works at Rome, Bologna, and elsewhere. See Spooner, Biog. Hist. of the Fine Arts, s.v.