Guido Reni, one of the most important Bologna baroque painters, was an artist of international renown.
Guido Reni was born the son of a musician at Calvenzano near Bologna in 1575. Guido Reni was a true child of prodigy, highly gifted in music and with a great liking for art from an early point on. At the young age of nine he began an apprenticeship (together with Domenichino) at the studio of Denis Calvaert, a Dutch painter active in Bologna, as of 1584. Around 1595 Guido Reni eventually joined the school of the Carracci, decisive not only for the development of classicist-baroque art in Bologna, but in all of Italy.
In 1599 the Bologna painters guild accepted Guido Reni as master and elected him as “Consigliere” without a dissentient vote. At that time Guido Reni, also known as "il Guido" and "le Guide" in France, was also occupied with graphic art.
At the turn of the century Guido Reni went to Rome, where the painter remained, except for a few interruptions, until 1613/14. Afterwards Guido Reni finally settled in Bologna for good. He embarked on just a few short trips, for instance to Ravenna in1620, to Naples in 1622 and once more to Rome in 1627.
In Bologna Guido Reni operated a prospering studio, which led the local art scene after the death of Lodovico Carracci in1619. Guido Reni soon gained international renown for his deep religious paintings, which, in their sweetish overabundance, call reminiscence of Raphael. It's mostly his gracious Madonna statues and images of saints that are particular popular for their firm plasticity and their heavenward look even today. Works by Guido Reni show a deeply rooted personal religiousness.
Guido Reni died at Bologna in1642.