The funerary monument of Pope Alexander VII (r. 1655-67) was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and executed between 1671 and 1678. The monument is made up of six figures. At the apex Alexander VII, bare-headed, kneels in prayer. Below him are four female allegorical figures: in the foreground stand Charity and Truth, whose left foot rests on a globe; in the background are half-figures of Prudence and Justice. All five were carved out of white marble, while the sixth, Death, was cast in gilded bronze. Death is portrayed as a winged skeleton, bearing aloft an hour-glass; its head is shrouded in billowing drapery, a tour-de-force creation of travertine veneered with Sicilian jasper, the work of Gabriele Renzi. The monument was a collaboration between Bernini and his assistants, the latter doing most of the work under the close supervision of the master. Comments are closed.
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My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England.
Since 200I I have been living in Italy, where I run private tours of Florence, Rome & Venice. Search Pictures From Italy:
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January 2020
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