Born in
Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the only child of Daniele Reni and Ginevra Pozzi. Apprenticed at the age of nine to the Bolognese studio of
Denis Calvaert, he was soon joined in that studio by
Albani and
Domenichino. to work with the teams led by
Annibale Carracci in fresco decoration of the
Farnese Palace. By 1604–05 he received an independent commission for an altarpiece of the
Crucifixion of St. Peter. After returning briefly to Bologna, he went back to Rome to become one of the premier painters during the papacy of
Pope Paul V (
Borghese); between 1607 and 1614, he became one of the painters most patronized by the Borghese family. Located in ''Casino dell' Aurora'' on the grounds of the
Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi, is Reni's fresco masterpiece, ''
L'Aurora''. The building was originally a pavilion commissioned by Cardinal
Scipione Borghese; the rear portion overlooks the Piazza Montecavallo and
Palazzo del Quirinale. The massive fresco is framed
in quadri riportati and depicts
Apollo in his Chariot preceded by Dawn (Aurora) bringing light to the world. The work is restrained in classicism, copying poses from Roman sarcophagi, and showing far more simplicity and restraint than Carracci's riotous
Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne in the
Farnese. In this painting, Reni allies himself more with the sterner
Cavaliere d'Arpino,
Lanfranco, and
Albani "School" of mytho-historic painting, and less with the more crowded frescoes characteristic of
Pietro da Cortona. There is little concession to perspective, and the vibrantly coloured style is antithetical to the tenebrism of
Caravaggio's followers. Documents show that Reni was paid 247
scudi and 54
baiocchi upon completion of his work on 24 September 1616. trampling Satan wears a late-Roman military cloak and cuirass. Held in
Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, Rome. In 1630, the
Barberini family of
Pope Urban VIII commissioned from Reni a painting of the
Archangel Michael for the church of
Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. The painting, completed in 1636, gave rise to an old legend that Reni had represented Satan—crushed under St Michael's foot—with the facial features of
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Pamphilj in revenge for a slight. Reni also frescoed the Paoline Chapel of
Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome as well as the
Aldobrandini wings of the Vatican. According to rumour, the pontifical chapel of Montecavallo (Chapel of the Annunciation) was assigned to Reni to paint. However, because he felt underpaid by the papal ministers, the artist left Rome once again for Bologna, leaving the role of the pre-eminent artist in Rome to Domenichino.
Work in Naples and return to Bologna Returning to Bologna more or less permanently after 1614, Reni established a successful and prolific studio there. He was commissioned to decorate the cupola of the chapel of Saint Dominic in Bologna's
Basilica of San Domenico between 1613 and 1615, resulting in the radiant fresco
Saint Dominic in Glory, a masterpiece that can stand comparison with the exquisite
Arca di San Domenico below it. He also contributed to the decoration of the Rosary Chapel in the same church with a
Resurrection; and in 1611 he had already painted for
San Domenico a superb
Massacre of the Innocents (now in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna) which became an important reference for the French
Neoclassic style, as well as a model for details in Picasso's
Guernica. In 1614–15 he painted
The Israelites Gathering Manna for a chapel in the cathedral of
Ravenna. Circa 1615 in Bologna, Reni created one of his most reproduced works,
Saint Sebastian (sometimes called by the Italian San Sebastiano). The painting is thought to have been a commission for a member of the papal court due to the presence of lapis lazuli in the blue of the sky, an expensive material usually supplied by clients. Reni painted Saint Sebastian a total of six times, though the 1615 rendition is arguably the most recognizable. Notably, the painting has been adored by Oscar Wilde and other gay artists throughout history. Leaving Bologna briefly in 1618, Reni travelled to
Naples to complete a commission to paint a ceiling in a chapel of the cathedral of San Gennaro. However, in Naples, other prominent local painters, including
Corenzio,
Caracciolo and
Ribera, were vehemently resistant to competitors, and according to rumour, conspired to poison or otherwise harm Reni (as may have befallen Domenichino in Naples after him). Reni's assistant was so badly wounded that he returned to Rome. Reni, who had a great fear of being poisoned, chose not to outstay his welcome. After leaving Rome, Reni alternately painted in different styles, but displayed less eclectic tastes than many of Carracci's trainees. For example, his altarpiece for
Samson Victorious formulates stylized poses, like those characteristic of
Mannerism. In contrast, his
Crucifixion and his
Atlanta and Hipomenes depict dramatic diagonal movement coupled with the effects of light and shade that portray the more Baroque influence of
Caravaggio. His turbulent yet realistic
Massacre of the Innocents (Pinacoteca, Bologna) is painted in a manner reminiscent of a late
Raphael. In 1625, Prince
Władysław Sigismund Vasa of
Poland visited the artist's workshop in Bologna during his visit to Western Europe. The close rapport between the painter and the Polish prince resulted in the acquisition of drawings and paintings. By the 1630s, Reni's painting style became looser, less
impastoed, and dominated by lighter colours. A compulsive gambler, Reni was often in financial distress despite the steady demand for his paintings. According to his biographer,
Carlo Cesare Malvasia, Reni's need to recoup gambling losses resulted in rushed execution and multiple copies of his works produced by his workshop. Reni died in Bologna in 1642. He was buried there in the Rosary Chapel of the
Basilica of San Domenico; the painter
Elisabetta Sirani (whose father had been Reni's pupil and whom some considered the artistic reincarnation of Reni) was later interred in the same tomb. ==Pupils and legacy==