The Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini made two Busts of Pope Paul V. The first is currently in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. 1618 is the commonly accepted date for the portrait of the pope. [1] In 2015, a second bust was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.[2] It was created by Bernini 1621, shortly after the death of Paul V, and commissioned by his nephew, Cardinal Scipione Borghese.[2] A bronze version of this sculpture exists in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark.[3]

Bust of Pope Paul V
Bronze version of the bust, Copenhagen
ArtistGian Lorenzo Bernini
Year1621 (1621)
Catalogue6 (2)
TypeSculpture
MediumCarrara marble
Dimensions79 cm (31 in)
LocationNational Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen
OwnerNational Gallery of Denmark
Preceded byBust of Giovanni Vigevano
Followed byDamned Soul (Bernini)

Rediscovery of second bust

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For most of the twentieth century, the second bust had been presumed lost. It was sold by the Borghese family in 1893, and an art historian recorded its existence in Vienna in 1916. However, little more was known about the presence of the bust until it appeared in auction in Slovakia in 2014; the piece had been in the private collection of the Slovakian artist Ernest Zmeták.[4] Unrecognised by the sellers, it was bought by a resident of Bratislava, Clément Guenebeaud, who then sold the bust via Sotheby's to the current holders, the Getty Museum. [5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wittkower, Rudolf (1997). Gian Lorenzo Bernini: The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque (4th ed.). London: Phaidon Press. p. 233.
  2. ^ a b "News from the Getty | J. Paul Getty Museum is Acquiring Recently Rediscovered Bernini". news.getty.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-06-20. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  3. ^ "Buste af Pave Paul V Borghese (1552, Pave 1605-1621)". Kulturstyrelsen. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Getty got it, good". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  5. ^ a.s., Petit Press (20 July 2015). "Slovak auction house sold original bust by Bernini". Retrieved 2015-07-25.
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