Guercino, Erminia discovers the wounded Tancred
145 x 185 cm; oil on canvas (FC 259)
This large dramatic painting illustrates a scene from Torquato Tasso’s epic poem of 1581 about the Crusades, Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem Delivered), in which the poet describes the skirmishes of love and adventure experienced by many young people. Here Erminia has rushed to the spot where her lover Tancred lies severely wounded: “The name of Tancred was enough for her; madly or drunkenly she came, she caught sight of the handsome face, its colour gone. She didn’t dismount, she leapt from the horse” [Antony M. Esolen, Jerusalem Delivered ed. 2000] The seductive light of the moon delicately highlights the figures whose presence in the foreground dominates the space that at that time was often reserved for the background landscape. The painting is attributed to the youthful phase of the artist’s career, and it has been dated to 1618, according to Malvasia (1678), who reported: “He painted a wounded Tancred found by Erminia, after having battled with Argante, for Sig. Marcello Provenzali from Cento, famous for his skill in mosaic making; this man then gave the painting to Cardinal Pignatelli”. We know of several contemporary copies and an engraving by G. B. Pasqualini, a friend of Guercino’s, from 1620. The painting belonged to Princess Olimpia Maidalchini.
