GUERCINO
(b. 1591, Cento, d. 1666, Bologna)

Lunette painting

1621
Tempera
Casino dell'Aurora, Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi, Rome

On the short sides of the Sala dell'Aurora are two lunettes which fill the space beneath the imaginary centre opening. Opposite to the personification of Day sits the personification of the Fourth Watch of the Night with Two Sleeping Children. It is possible that the meditative pose of the female figure was derived from Dürer's Melencolia.