Time to stop playing the field and settle down? Bernini was the most famous sculptor in 17th century Europe. Yet his personal life was a scandal.
At age 42, the bachelor’s tumultous love affairs came to an abrupt end when patron Pope Urban VIII forced him to repent and marry. In his search for forgiveness, Bernini became deeply pious.
He cast this sculpture of the dying Christ three times – for the king of Spain, the king of France, and one for himself. His suffering Christ – naturalistic and emotional, offered the artist hope for eternal salvation.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
(Italian, 1598-1680)
Corpus
c1655
bronze
h: 174.0 cm
Art Gallery of Ontario,
Gift of the Murray Frum family, 2006
© 2009 Art Gallery of Ontario