ATTRIBUTED TO GIOVANNI FRANCESCO BARBIERI, CALLED IL GUERCINO | Veronica's Veil: The Head of Christ

oil on canvas;inscribed with Antonio Barberini's inventory number lower right: '70'

Cardinal Antonio Barberini, Palazzo delle Quattro Fontane, Rome, inv. of 1644, no. 70;
With Heim Gallery, London, by 1980;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 9 July 1982, lot 31 (as Annibale Carracci);
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 19 April 1985, lot 102 (as Annibale Carracci);
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 1 November 1991, lot 44 (as Attributed to Annibale Carracci);
Anonymous sale, Vienna, Dorotheum, 7 April 2006, lot 48 (as Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called il Guercino).

London, Heim Gallery, 'From Tintoretto to Tiepolo,' 1980, no. 7 (as Annibale Carracci).

M. Aronberg Lavin, 'Seventeenth Century Barberini Documents and Inventories of Art,' New York 1975, p. 161, under Antonio Barberini's inventory of 1644, no. 70;
N. Turner, 'The Paintings of Guercino: A Revised and Expanded Catalogue raisonné,' Rome 2017, p. 388, cat. no. 121 (as Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called il Guercino), reproduced p. 142, fig 117.

The canvas is lined. A striking image reads well. There is craquelure throughout. Scuffmarks are along the right side of the canvas. Under UV; scattered inpainting throughout. Offered in a gold frame, with an interior gilding colored teal, and some minor loss on the edges.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

This painting appears to have the number from Antonio Barberini's 1664 inventory, and seems to have remained with the family until 1960. When it was shown in London at Heim Gallery in 1980, it was associated with the artist Annibale Carracci (1560-1609). This attribution stayed with the painting when it reappeared at auction¹, though stylistically it is closer to Il Guercino (1591-1666) as published in the 2017 catalogue raisonné of the artist by Nicholas Turner.²  A similar composition that is now in a private collection was offered at Christie's London in 2011 as Circle of Il Guercino.³

1. See Provenance. Also see Exhibition.
2. See Literature.
3. See Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 14 April 2011, lot 83 (as Circle of Il Guercino).