 |
| Bernardo Fioriti Bust of Gianlorenzo Bernini ca. 1660 marble Philadelphia Museum of Art |
 |
| François Chéron Portrait-medal of Gianlorenzo Bernini (commissioned by Louis XIV) 1674 bronze Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
 |
| Gianlorenzo Bernini Bust of Pope Paul V Borghese (commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese) 1621 marble Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
"Gianlorenzo Bernini was just twenty-three years old when he received one of his first commissions – to make a full-sized bust of Pope Paul V, the recently deceased uncle of his most important patron, Cardinal Scipione Borghese. In this two-and-a-half foot marble portrait, Bernini depicts the pope almost bareheaded, his hair style in the "tonsure of St. Peter" (a practice that signified renunciation of worldly fashion) and dressed in traditional pontifical vestments. The thick cope covering his shoulders is richly decorated with embroidery of the patron saints of Rome, the Apostles Peter (holding his keys and a book) and Paul (holding th sword of his martyrdom and a book). While he is robed in the garments of the papacy, Pope Paul V gazes at the viewer with a natural expression, his face individualized by the slight turn of the head, the delicate contours of his forehead and the tiny wrinkles carved around his eyes. At this time, Bernini is already making the dynamic sculptures for which he will become famous, yet here his subject requires restraint. The artist's subdued dynamism can best be seen in the folds of drapery at the sitter's left shoulder, suggesting his body moves underneath. This bust was kept in the Villa Borghese in Rome until 1893 and then sold. Its whereabouts have been unknown until its rediscovery in late 2014."
– curator's notes from the Getty Museum
 |
| Anonymous photographer Bernini's Rape of Proserpina in Galleria Borghese, Rome ca. 1875 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
 |
| Gianlorenzo Bernini Rape of Proserpina 1621-22 marble Galleria Borghese, Rome |
 |
| James Anderson Bernini's Apollo and Daphne in Galleria Borghese, Rome ca. 1845-55 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
 |
| Gianlorenzo Bernini Apollo and Daphne 1622-25 marble Galleria Borghese, Rome |
 |
| James Anderson Bernini's David in Galleria Borghese, Rome ca. 1845-55 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
 |
| Gianlorenzo Bernini David 1623-24 marble Galleria Borghese, Rome |
 |
| Francesco Faraone Aquila Bernini's Vision of Constantine in St Peter's Basilica ca. 1695-1705 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
 |
| Gianlorenzo Bernini The Vision of Constantine 1670 marble St Peter's Basilica, Rome |
 |
| Giovanni Battista Falda Bernini's Fontana del Moro, Piazza Navona, Rome ca. 1691 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
 |
| Gianlorenzo Bernini Modello for central figure in Fontana del Moro, Piazza Navona, Rome 1653 terracotta Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas |
 |
| Paolo Monti Bernini's Fontana del Moro, Piazza Navona, Rome 1960 photograph Fondo Paolo Monti |