Tomb of Pope Alexander VII
This is one of the most famous papal monuments in St. Peter's and is the masterpiece of the 80-year old Bernini with assistance by various artists. The door under the monument leads to an exit of the basilica. Alexander VII was the pope who commissioned Bernini to enclose St. Peter's Square with the colonnade.
The present tomb is one of the greatest combined enterprises of Bernini's studio. Bernini himself made drawings and a small model of the whole tomb. On 7 October 1672 he received 1,000 scudi for the design and model. A preliminary design, made in the studio, incorporating theprincipal features of the tomb, survives in the Royal Library at Windsor. Bernini himself had a hand, at least, in the statue of the Pope: he probably put the finishing touches to the face. Charity was carried out by Giuseppe Mazzuoli between May 1673 and November 1675; Truth first by Lazzaro Morelli between November 1673 and December 1674, when the figure was handed over to Giulio Cartari, Bernini's favourite, who finished it between April and November 1675. Michele Maglia was responsible for the figure of the Pope.
The Pontiff, kneeling and absorbed in prayer, is not disturbed by the sudden appearance of Death, who, raising a heavy pall, brandishes an hour-glass to indicate that time has passed. The four statues represent the virtues practiced by the Pontiff: in the foreground is Charity with a child in her arms, and Truth who sets a foot on a map of the world, and precisely on England where the Pope sought in vain to quell the growth of Anglicanism.
Tomb of Pope Alexander VII
This is one of the most famous papal monuments in St. Peter's and is the masterpiece of the 80-year old Bernini with assistance by various artists. The door under the monument leads to an exit of the basilica. Alexander VII was the pope who commissioned Bernini to enclose St. Peter's Square with the colonnade.
The present tomb is one of the greatest combined enterprises of Bernini's studio. Bernini himself made drawings and a small model of the whole tomb. On 7 October 1672 he received 1,000 scudi for the design and model. A preliminary design, made in the studio, incorporating theprincipal features of the tomb, survives in the Royal Library at Windsor. Bernini himself had a hand, at least, in the statue of the Pope: he probably put the finishing touches to the face. Charity was carried out by Giuseppe Mazzuoli between May 1673 and November 1675; Truth first by Lazzaro Morelli between November 1673 and December 1674, when the figure was handed over to Giulio Cartari, Bernini's favourite, who finished it between April and November 1675. Michele Maglia was responsible for the figure of the Pope.
The Pontiff, kneeling and absorbed in prayer, is not disturbed by the sudden appearance of Death, who, raising a heavy pall, brandishes an hour-glass to indicate that time has passed. The four statues represent the virtues practiced by the Pontiff: in the foreground is Charity with a child in her arms, and Truth who sets a foot on a map of the world, and precisely on England where the Pope sought in vain to quell the growth of Anglicanism.