Guercino's Friar with a gold earring: Fra Bonaventura Bisi, painter and art dealer

Abstract

Who is the intriguing man wearing a religious habit and a gold hoop earring in this portrait by Italian Baroque master II Guercino? And why does he point to a stack of drawings? This fascinating book investigates the Ringling's portrait of Fra Bonaventura Bisi, a Franciscan Minor Conventual friar whose work as an art dealer, printmaker, and celebrated painter of miniatures made him a major figure in the artistic culture of seventeenth-century Bologna. Beautifully illustrated, this volume offers new scholarship on both Guercino's portrait and Fra Bisi's life, including his extraordinary miniatures, his dogged pursuit of artworks for high-ranking collectors, his passionate efforts to promote the appreciation and collecting of drawings, and not least his incongruous gold hoop earring. Published to accompany an important exhibition at The Ringling, this book, based on years of research, provides a captivating glimpse into art making and art collecting in Baroque Italy.

Contents

Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Chapter 1 : Guercino's Bisi / David M. Stone -- Chapter 2 : Bisi as art adviser and dealer to the Estensi and Medici / David M. Stone -- Chapter 3 : Men with earrings in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries / Sarah Cartwright -- Chapter 4 : Bisi and miniature painting in seventeenth-century Italy / Sarah Cartwright -- Bibliography -- Exhibition checklist -- Index -- Picture credits.