DON'T LET ME DOWN!

Sitemap
The coats of arms of the Popes Pages on a specific Pope An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Filippo Juvarra's drawings of the finest coats of arms XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna Visit Rome in 8 days! A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi Pages on the Venetian Fortresses in Greece, the Walls of Constantinople and many other topics Visit the Roman countryside following the steps of Ferdinand Gregorovius My Guestbooks A detailed index of my websites
Three chapels by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Cappella Paluzzi Albertoni

The death of Alexander VII in 1667 marked the end of a period. His successors refrained from embarking on large and expensive renovations of churches. The activity of Bernini slowed down: he worked for many years on a statue of Louis XIV (now in Versailles). In 1675 he designed a chapel in the peripheral church of S. Francesco a Ripa for the family Paluzzi-Albertoni, where his pictorial approach is even more evident than in the other chapels.

Overall view
Overall view

The viewer is guided towards the end of the chapel by a sort of frame. There is no traditional altar, but a composition made by different materials and by different artists. A colored marble is shaped in the form of a drapery on which lies a statue of Beata Ludovica Albertoni (or perhaps St Anne) by Bernini. Above the statue a fine painting by Giovanni Battista Gaulli il Baciccio on a subject drawn by Bernini. Slightly above the statue, in a very unusual position, two series of stucco angels converge towards it. Finally all the wall is covered by a gilted decoration.

Detail of the window
Where the light comes from


Also in this chapel Bernini devised a hidden window to direct light on the face of Beata Ludovica Albertoni.
Other chapels by Gian Lorenzo Bernini:
Cappella Raimondi in S. Pietro in Montorio
Cappella Cornaro in S. Maria della Vittoria

Other pages dealing with Baroque sculpture:
Monuments showing the dead in a medallion
Representation of Death in Baroque sculptures
Statues in the act of praying
Three busts by Alessandro Algardi
See also my List of Baroque Architects and my Directory of Baroque Sculpture.

Go and see another work by Gian Lorenzo Bernini  or go to my Home Page on Baroque Rome or to my Home Page on Rome in the footsteps of an XVIIIth century traveller.


All images © 1999 - 2003 by Roberto Piperno. Write to romapip@quipo.it