Sleeping Infant Jesus
Oil on canvas
54 x 103 cm
Reni's style can be summarised as the exaltation of classicism, or rather the constant idealisation of reality, due to the search for ideal beauty. Born into the Accademia degli Incamminati, he was a faithful supporter of the most classicist of his three cousins, Annibale Carracci. He in turn had an important workshop where important painters were trained, including Guido Cagnacci, Simone Cantarini, Pier Francesco Cittadini, Michele Desubleo, Francesco Gessi, Giovanni Andrea and Elisabetta Sirani, and Flaminio Torri.