Tony Cui publishes article on Guido Reni's "Union of Disgeno and Colore" reevaluating its meaning

Tony Cui's article deepens our understanding of Guido Reni and his relationship to this important work

Tony Cui's article, "Guido Reni's Compendio: Disegno, Colore, and the Ideal Union of Art," Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, vol. 53 no. 1, 2022, p. 205-228. Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/article/870110,  offers a belated reading of Guido Reni's Union of Disegno and Colore. In the article, Cui argues that Reni's painting, though allegorical by nature, is a visual summary of his biography and artistic consciousness. Although the concept of compendio (compendium) is key to early modern Bolognese art historiography, it has yet to be analyzed closely, let alone applied to the many messages conveyed through Reni's Union. By interpreting the Union through biography, iconography, sex, and gender, Cui proposes that we take seriously the concept of a visual compendium, one that gives form to Reni's ideal union of art.