Detail View: ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART: Tomb of Pope Alexander VII
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Collection:
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ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART
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Preferred Title:
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Tomb of Pope Alexander VII
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Image View:
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Detail, skeleton of Death with hourglass, figure of Justice in the back and figure of Truth at right
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Creator:
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Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian sculptor, 1598-1680)
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Location:
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repository: Saint Peter's (Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano) (Rome (Vatican City), Santa Sede (Holy See), Italy)
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Location Note:
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Piazza di San Pietro
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GPS:
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+41.902222+12.453333
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Date:
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1671-1678 (creation)
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Cultural Context:
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Italian
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Style Period:
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Baroque
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Work Type 1:
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sculpture (visual work)
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Work Type 2:
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monument
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Classification:
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sculpture
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Material:
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gilt bronze; white and colored marbles; Sicilian jasper
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Technique:
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carving (processes); casting (process); gilding (technique)
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Description:
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The last of Bernini’s great projects to be completed was the tomb of Alexander VII. It was commissioned by the Pope before his death and was originally intended for S Maria Maggiore, but the site had been changed to the south transept of St Peter’s by 1670. In 1672 Bernini was paid for the design and a model of the whole tomb. Executed almost entirely by assistants and collaborators, though under Bernini’s close supervision, it consists of a marble effigy of the Pope kneeling at prayer, while below him are marble female figures representing Charity, Prudence, Justice and Truth. A bronze skeleton shaking an hourglass pushes up from under the great inlaid marble shroud that hangs over an entrance door that could not be moved and was thus cleverly incorporated into the design. (Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/)
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Collection:
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Adjunct Module A: Italian Art
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Identifier:
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1A1-BG-MA-A11
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Rights:
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© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.
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