Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister: Bernini, the Pope and Death

Guido Ubaldo Abbatini, Papst Alexander VII. mit Berninis Totenkopf, 1655/56

Bernini, the Pope and Death

With his buildings and fountains, the great sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) has had an enduring influence on the physical appearance of the city of Rome. His famous sculptures have come to epitomise the Baroque style. In the course of his life, Bernini served under eight popes, but his relationship with Alexander VII Chigi was particularly close. During his pontificate, the artist not only designed the colonnades of St. Peter’s Square and the pope’s monumental tomb, but also created very intimate works of art for him. One of these, previously considered lost, has now been rediscovered in the Skulpturensammlung – an exciting find with a fascinating history.

Exhibition Site Zwinger

DATES 28/05/2021—21/11/2021

This unusual masterpiece is an extremely impressive, life-size death’s head made of white Carrara marble. It is so realistically sculpted that it could almost be mistaken for a genuine human skull. This death’s head was commissioned from Bernini by Alexander VII immediately after his election as Pope in 1655, and thenceforth it lay on his desk as a reminder of the fragility of human existence. After the demise of Alexander VII, the death’s head became the property of his nephew, an eminent collector of antiquities. In 1728, his collection, which had remained in the possession of the Chigi family, was acquired for Augustus the Strong. As a result, 164 antique sculptures and four contemporary works came to Dresden.

**Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Totenkopf, 1655**

One of these “modern” works was referred to in the correspondence preceding the purchase as “Una celebre testa di Morto, opera del Cav[alie]r Bernini” (“A famous skull, work of the Knight Bernini”). Careful research has now proven that it was this “famous skull” that came to Dresden in 1728, and that it is indeed a work by Bernini.

In the seventeenth century, sudden and often violent death was omnipresent, which is why people were intensely preoccupied with mortality. A constant threat was posed not only by wars and assaults, but above all by diseases. In 1656 there was an outbreak of plague in Rome, and it is remarkable how closely the measures Alexander VII used to fight the epidemic (quarantine, masks, and the extensive shutting down of public life) resemble those that determine our everyday life in the face of the coronavirus today. Death, too, is again more prominent in people’s consciousness due to the current situation, and Bernini’s death’s head thus proves to be a memento mori of extraordinary topical relevance.

**Giovanni Ranzoni und François Collignon, Berninis Plan für den Petersplatz in Rom, 1663** Radierung und Kupferstich

**Alessandro Specchi (Zeichner) und Giovanni Domenico de' Rossi (Verleger), Ansicht des Palazzo Chigi an der Piazza SS. Apostoli** Radierung aus "Il QVARTO LIBRO DEL NVOVO TEATRO DELLI PALAZZI IN PROSPETTIVA DI ROMA MODERNA [...]", Rom 1665, Tafel 26

**Gaspare Morone nach einem Entwurf von Bernini, Medaille für Papst Alexander VII., die auf dem Revers die Vertreibung der Pest aus Rom darstellt, 1657** Bronze

**Rocco Tamburini oder Francesco Perroni, Ziseliertes Wappen von Papst Alexander VII. auf der Rückseite des Rahmens von Ippolito Scarsella, Die Heilige Familie mit Johannesknabe und Lamm, 1659/60** Kupfer vergoldet

**Balthasar Permoser, Weinendes Kind, um 1725** Untersberger Marmor

Tour through the online exhibition

We invite you to get to know the exhibition in a virtual live tour (45 minutes) with our guide via video conference. Free of charge! Technical requirements: internet-enabled device (computer, tablet, smartphone), broadband internet connection, compatible browser: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Firefox. Simply follow the link to the conference in the dates, registration is not required. English dates available!

See the dates