Bologna, Guercino's altarpiece returns to San Domenico after restoration

The restoration of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Act of Writing the Hymn of the Blessed Sacrament, a 1662 work by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri; Cento, 1591 - Bologna, 1666), is finished after three months: the altarpiece has already returned to its chapel in the right transept of the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna. It is an important work, both for the conception of the composition and for the quality of the pictorial drafting: it was executed by Guercino at a very advanced stage of his career, when he was already over sixty years of age but was still able to create works of great value. The work is in line with the artist’s Dominican commission and celebrates St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the order’s most important saints, with a certain emphasis but also with an accurate depiction of feelings, with the harmonious colors and balanced composition with a classical flavor that distinguishes the last phase of the Emilian artist’s activity.

The restoration was carried out by the Nonfarmale srl workshop in San Lazzaro di Savena and had become necessary following the degradation suffered by the canvas, due to insect infestation that had severely eroded its edges, even causing its partial detachment from the frame. The intervention was financed by the Ministry of the Interior - Fondo Edifici di Culto and supervised by the Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio for the metropolitan city of Bologna and the provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Ferrara (the contact persons in charge of the restoration were art historian Anna Stanzani and restorer Monica Vezzani) and the MiBAC Regional Secretariat for Emilia-Romagna.

Pictured is a detail of the work.

Bologna, Guercino's altarpiece returns to San Domenico after restoration

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