Gian Lorenzo Bernini

In the Galleria Borghese, a terracotta maquette of an equestrian statue might pass unobserved by the visitor overwhelmed by the monumental marble works of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), the most important sculptor of the Baroque period. Yet, the same artist modelled the maquette in response to a commission of Louis XIV of France for his palace at Versailles, following his standard practice of providing clay models for approval by his patrons. The proposal was approved and the marble version sculpted, only to be rejected later and transformed from a monument to the king into a tribute to the Roman hero Marcus Curtius and banished from the palace grounds. Clay maquettes of Bernini are also found in the museum of Palazzo Venezia, including this model for one of the angels commissioned for Ponte Sant’Angelo. #romacittàdellaceramica #romeceramiccity #terracotta #ceramics #gianlorenzobernini #baroquesculpture #maquettes #galleriaborghese #museodipalazzovenezia @ Galleria Borghese