Page 63 - GUIDO RENI 2017

Thus, Reni’s activity as portraitist formed a significant part of his Roman activity under both Clement VIII and
Paul V. It probably began in Rome as early as 1603 with his training with Scalvati, and during the remaining
years of Clement’s reign he painted portraits of the Pope, Sfondrato and G.B. Marino.31 For the Borghese, it
would have begun with his portrait of Camillo and continued with his portraits of Camillo, after his election as
Paul V, and of his cardinal nephew, Scipione, works mentioned by Malvasia. Finally, from Reni’s account book,
we also know that he painted the portrait of Cardinal Sannesi in 1609. For the present, this constitutes what can
be reconstructed of Reni’s rather active portrait career in these years.

D. Stephen Pepper and Patrick Matthiesen

31 Marino arrived in Rome in late 1600 or early 1601 and left Rome definitely by 1605. He must have met Reni quite early
because he sings the praises of an early work by the artist, the Callisto, as a consequence of which Malvasia reports Reni painted
the poet’s portrait (G.B. Marino, La Galleria, Venice, 1619, Malvasia, 1841, II, 10). It is interesting that Marino in his Galleria
(p.148) includes a ‘Portrait’ of Paul V, celebrating his victory in the conclave, in which he opens the poem ‘Giovane il ciel
sostenni, e non fugrave/A le mie terga l’honorata soma,/quando al’elettion del gran conclave/d’Apostolica mitra ormai la chioma’...,
almost a word depiction of Reni’s portrait.

A portrait said to be of Cardinal Sfondrato is in the collection of Marchese Albicini, Forli, and was exhibited as Reni in 1911
at the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, II Ritratto Italiano, no.26, but it is definitely not by Reni.

It is very likely that Reni painted the Portrait of Ferranti Carli (see note 3) at this time. Carli, a Cremonese, was Private Secretary
to his count­ryman, Sfondrato, and he later came to occupy a similar position with Cardinal Scipione Borghese. He may have
been involved in the negotiations in 1607 in which Sfondrato’s pictures were acquired by Borghese. Reni probably felt that he
had to make gifts of portraits to both Marino and Carli to satisfy these highly competitive ‘Taste Makers’. Some years later,
Carli and Marino became open enemies over their differing critical appraisals of the work of Lanfranco.

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