Gian Lorenzo Bernini was the greatest sculptor of the Baroque period, and yet—surprisingly—there has never before been a major exhibition of his sculpture in North America. Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture showcases portrait sculptures from all phases of the artist’s long career, from the very early Antonio Coppola of 1612 to Clement X of about 1676, one of his last completed works.

Bernini’s portrait busts were masterpieces of technical virtuosity; at the same time, they revealed a new interest in psychological depth. Bernini’s ability to capture the essential character of his subjects was unmatched and had a profound influence on other leading sculptors of his day, such as Alessandro Algardi, Giuliano Finelli, and Francesco Mochi.

Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture is a groundbreaking study that features drawings and paintings by Bernini and his contemporaries. Together they demonstrate not only the range, skill, and acuity of these masters of Baroque portraiture but also the interrelationship of the arts in seventeenth-century Rome.

• Lenders to the Exhibition
• Foreword, Michael Brand and Pierre Théberge
• Acknowledgments
• Creating a New Likeness: Bernini’s Transformation of the Portrait Bust, Andrea Bacchi and Catherine Hess
• Innovation and Exchange: Portrait Sculptors of the Early Roman Baroque, Jennifer Montagu
• “Sculptors pursue likenesses”: The Typology and Function of Seventeenth-Century Portrait Sculpture in Rome, Steven F. Ostrow
• CATALOGUE
  • PART 1: Early Bernini
  • PART 2: Rome of the Barberini
  • PART 3: Bernini’s Portrait Drawings
  • PART 4: “Speaking Likeness”: Intimacy and Immediacy in Bernini’s Portraiture
  • PART 5: Alternative Paths: Alessandro Algardi and Giuliano Finelli
  • PART 6: Absolute Art for Absolute Powers
  • Checklist of Bernini’s Portrait Busts
  • Appendix: Transcriptions of the Lists of Portrait Busts of ca. 1675 and 1682
  • Biographies
  • Glossary of Ecclesiastical Vestments and Papal Chronology
  • Photograph Credits
  • Bibliography
  • Index

Andrea Bacchi is associate professor of art history at University of Bologna, Italy.

Catherine Hess is Chief Curator of European Art at Huntington Art Collections.