Guercino Auction Prices and Value Guide

Guercino auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 898 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Guercino auction prices: quick answer

Guercino auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Guercino
Source records
898
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Guercino

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591–1666), known as Guercino — a nickname meaning 'the squinter' — was a leading Italian Baroque painter and draftsman born in Cento, near Ferrara. Largely self-taught, he developed a distinctive early style marked by dramatic chiaroscuro and energetic naturalism, influenced by the Carracci and Caravaggio. After a productive stay in Rome (1621–1623), where he received major commissions including the fresco of Aurora in the Casino Ludovisi, Guercino returned to the Emilia region. Following Guido Reni's death in 1642, he relocated his studio to Bologna, where his mature work adopted a more restrained, classically balanced manner. His nephew Benedetto and Cesare Gennari continued the workshop. Today, Guercino's paintings and celebrated drawings — prized for their fluid handling of light — are held by major museums worldwide, and his work appears regularly on the Old Master art market.

Italian Baroqueoil on canvasfrescodrawing (pen, ink, wash, chalk)religious and biblical scenesmythological subjectsportraitsaltarpieces

Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers most frequently encounter Guercino's works in the form of oil paintings on canvas (religious altarpieces, mythological scenes, and portraits), preparatory and finished drawings in pen and ink, wash, and chalk, and engraved reproductions by his circle of printmakers. Fresco cycles, such as the Aurora ceiling in Rome, exist in situ and do not typically appear on the market. Smaller cabinet paintings, devotional images, and compositional sketches are also represented in auction records. Works attributed to Guercino's workshop or to his nephews Benedetto and Cesare Gennari may circulate under his name and require careful connoisseurship.

Market and appraisal context

Guercino commands a deep, liquid secondary market spanning nearly three decades of recorded auction activity, with 794 catalogued lots of which 396 carry realized prices. The price distribution is strongly right-skewed: the median stands at approximately $500, the 75th percentile at $1,400, but the recorded maximum reaches $4,064,250 — a range that reflects the gap between minor workshop or circle drawings and major autograph canvases sold at international houses. The market is actively expanding, with 215 lots in the most recent 12-month window versus 165 in the prior period (a roughly 30% increase in volume). Ten or more auction houses appear with regularity, including Sotheby's at the top tier and a broad base of European regional houses (Noonans Mayfair, HVMC Monaco, Artcurial, Millon & Associés, ARTESIA, Schmitt Horan & Co., Alde, Morton & Eden, and others). The recent comparable lots are predominantly works attributed to Guercino's circle or period followers offered at French regional auctioneers, with prices clustering between €20 and €7,200, suggesting a robust mid-market for drawings, small oils, and works in the manner of Guercino. The premium segment — large autograph paintings with strong provenance — is captured in the upper price records and is handled primarily by international Old Master departments at Sotheby's and equivalent firms.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Old Master Paintings
  • Old Master Drawings
  • oil on canvas
  • drawing (pen, ink, wash, chalk)
  • fresco

Value drivers

  1. [object Object]

Appraisal caveats

  • Many works attributed to Guercino or his circle appear on the market; specialist connoisseurship is required to distinguish autograph paintings from workshop or follower pieces.
  • Drawings by Guercino are abundant and widely collected, but attribution can be complex due to his large output and studio practice.
  • Market values for Old Master works vary widely based on size, subject, condition, and documented provenance; comparable auction results should be consulted for individual appraisals.
  • The price distribution spans $20 to $4,064,250 — a range of over 200,000x. Median and percentile figures are dominated by the high volume of lower-priced lots and should not be used to estimate the value of a specific autograph painting without adjustment for medium, size, attribution confidence, and provenance.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.

Source-grounded artist Markdown

Data basis

This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

LLM-readable Markdown summary for Guercino

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Guercino worth?

Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.

Can Appraisily value my Guercino artwork?

Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.