Charity with Four Children
| Charity with Four Children | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Gian Lorenzo Bernini |
| Year | 1627–1628 |
| Catalogue | 30 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Terracotta |
| Subject | Charity |
| Dimensions | 39 cm (15 in) |
| Location | Vatican Museums, Vatican City |
| 41°54′23″N 12°27′16″E / 41.90639°N 12.45444°E | |
| Preceded by | Statue of Carlo Barberini |
| Followed by | Two Busts of Cardinal Scipione Borghese |
Charity with Four Children also called Charity With Four Putti[Schuder] is a sculpture by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Executed between 1627 and 1628, the work is housed in the Vatican Museums in Vatican City. The small terracotta sculpture represents Charity breast-feeding a child, with three other children playing. The work includes an imprint of Bernini's thumbprint in the clay.
Background
[edit]The sculpture is an allegorical group, and was created as a model for the tomb of Pope Urban VIII.[1] It is sixteen inches high, is made from terracotta clay, and represents Charity breast-feeding a child, with three other children playing. Its creation date is uncertain: Raggio dates the sculpture’s execution to between 1627 and 1628, although others have suggested it may have been created closer to 1630,[2][3] or not later than 1634.[4][5]
There is an imprint of Bernini's thumbprint in the clay.[6][7][3]
History
[edit]The work is housed in the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana in the Vatican Museums in Vatican City.[1]
It was included in the touring exhibition Saint Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes, which opened in Fort Lauderdale in August 2003.[3] One reviewer called it “The most artistically rewarding work in the show...this delicate sculpture of a mother and infant is alive with movement and human feeling. It possesses an intimacy that comes from the actual touch of Bernini's hand; on the back, you can see the indentations his fingers made in the clay.”[3]
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In 2012 the sculpture featured in Bernini: Sculpting in Clay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. It was the earliest work included in the show.[1]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Gibson, Eric (Dec 2012). "Bernini's feats of clay". The New Criterion. 31 (4): 1–4.
- ^ Dickerson, III, Claude Douglas. Bernini and Before: Modeled Sculpture in Rome, ca. 1600-25 (Phd thesis). Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
Raggio (1983) has argued that it dates from 1627-28, when Bernini was first engaged on his tomb of Urban VIII. But with the actual carving of the figure not being undertaken until 1634, it seems possible that the first model for this figure may not have come until the early 1630s.
- ^ a b c d Schudel, Matt (2003-08-24). "The Look of Faith: The Splendid 'Saint Peter and the Vatican' reveals the 2,000 year-old artistic heritage of the Catholic Church in all its majesty and glory". South Florida Sun - Sentinel. Retrieved 3 April 2025 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Working models - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
- ^ Cole, Michael (2013). "Working models". Apollo. 177: 77–79 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Wittkower, Rudolf (1997) [1955]. Gian Lorenzo Bernini: The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque. London: Phaidon Press. pp. 252–253. ISBN 9780714837154.
- ^ "Bernini's fingerprint: the unique signature of the artist, vatican museum tour". Essence of Rome. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
References
[edit]- Avery, Charles (1997). Bernini: Genius of the Baroque. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 9780500286333.
- Baldinucci, Filippo (2006) [1682]. The Life of Bernini. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 9780271730769.
- Bernini, Domenico (2011) [1713]. The Life of Giano Lorenzo Bernini. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 9780271037486.
- Mormando, Franco (2011). Bernini: His Life and His Rome. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226538525.
External links
[edit]- Web Gallery of Art
Media related to Charity with Four Children at Wikimedia Commons
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