Rothschild Foundation Acquires Rediscovered Guercino for £2 Million

The Rothschild Foundation has acquired a rediscovered painting by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino, for approximately €2 million. The work, depicting Moses, was identified by antiquarian Fabrizio Moretti after appearing at a Chayette & Cheval auction in Paris in November 2022, where it was attributed to an anonymous follower of Guido Reni. Moretti purchased it for €800,000 against estimates of €5,000–6,000. The painting dates to 1618–19 and was first recorded in 1624 in the collection of Cardinal Alessandro d’Este, patron of Guercino in Rome. It later entered the Este ducal collections in Modena and was taken to France during the Napoleonic era, after which its traces were lost. The Rothschild Foundation will permanently display the work at Waddesdon Manor in the UK starting March 20, 2024, as part of the exhibition "King David and the Wise Women: Guercino at Waddesdon." The show will also feature Guercino's "King David" from the Rothschild collection (acquired in 2010) and three Sibyls on loan from the National Gallery and Royal Collection in London.