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92,5 x 152 cm
Oil on canvas


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Expertise

The Guardian Angel

The subject

The popularity of guardian angel iconography was directly proportionate to the widespread devotion aroused by this figure. The idea of the ‘guardian angel’ was introduced into Christian doctrine around the 5th century through the writings of a Greek philosopher known by the pseudonym Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, whose theories, deriving from Neo-Platonism, depicted a hierarchical view of reality with God at the summit and the so-called “angelic beings” under Him. But a belief in the existence of a supernatural entity that watches over humanity had already been conceived and introduced by Plato, who inserted it in the dialogues of Phaedo, dedicated to the death of Socrates.

A reference to angels as beings who inspire morality in man can be found in the Book of Job:

 

“Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him…” (Job 33:23)

 

Over time, the figure of the guardian angel became a fundamental concept within the Catholic Church, in particular in the Christian approach to children, and the work presented here appears to have been created in agreement with this purpose.


The painting

The piece is attributed to Benedetto Gennari, a student in Guercino’s workshop, even if intervention by the master himself cannot be excluded, especially on the figure of the angel. The angel is indicating Heaven to the small boy entrusted to him by Heavenly Grace, the greatest goal to strive for until the end of his life, possible only by leading a life of virtue.

Claudio Strinati dated the painting chronologically from Gennari’s earlier period around the seventh decade of the 17th century (written communication). The grandiose composition of the piece was without a doubt based upon the compositional ideas of Guercino’s later period, but Gennari distinguished himself with a more circumscript and clearly defined style that would influence Bolognese painting in the following century.