Two Young Women in Conversation
Medium
Pen and iron gall ink on buff laid paper, laid down on cream laid paper
Dimensions
22.2 × 20.4 cm (8 3/4 × 8 1/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
45100
Art Historical Context
In the Prints and Drawings collection of the Art Institute of lies a delicate gem from the School of Guercino *Two Young Women in Conversation*. This pen and ink drawing, measuring just 22.2 × 20.4 cm, an intimate moment of everyday exchange between two figures, rendered with the lively spontaneity characteristic of 17th-century Italian workshops. Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino ("the squinter" for his cross-eyed gaze), was a Bolognese Baroque master renowned for his dramatic chiaroscuro and expressive figures. Works from his school often emulated his fluid line work and keen ob...