Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591 – 1666) was an Italian draftsman and painter known best as ‘Guercino’, or Squinter, after a childhood accident left him cross-eyed. He was known for his appreciation of scenes from everyday life and innovations in the effects of light and shade. At the time Godwin mentions the painter’s name, there were two exhibitions featuring the works of Guercino. His cabinet pictures were exhibited by Christie at Pall-Mall, and there were other works featured at the Great Room of a Mr Squibb, though the dates of these shows do not correspond exactly with Godwin’s entry.

See The Times, 25 April 1815 and 24 May 1815, and also the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California.