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Soul at Death
Azzolino, Giovanni Bernardino, born 1572 - died 1645 - Enlarge image
Soul at Death
- Object:
Relief
- Place of origin:
Naples (made)
- Date:
1620-1630 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Azzolino, Giovanni Bernardino, born 1572 - died 1645 (sculptor)
- Materials and Techniques:
Relief, coloured wax on painted glass in deep stained and gilt box frame.
- Credit Line:
Waxes showing the fate of the soul
These dramatic and highly realistic wax sculptures depict the possible fate of the immortal soul. According to Catholic doctrine, the soul is judged at death and sent to Heaven for eternal reward, Hell for eternal punishment, or Purgatory for a period of purifying repentance. These sculptures were probably for private devotion, a potent reminder of the terrifying fate of damnation and that time in Purgatory could be lessened through the prayers of the living.
A Soul at Death
About 1620–30Italy (Naples)
Possibly by Giovanni Bernardo Azzolino
Coloured wax on painted glass
Inscribed on the back of the frame in Latin ‘Death to the bad, life to the good’
Given by the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine
Museum no. A.19-1982
A Damned Soul
About 1700Italy (Naples)
In the style of Gaetano Giulio Zumbo
Coloured wax on glass and painted copper, with mirror glass, quartz and mica
Bequeathed by Lady de Gex
Museum no. A.66-1938
A Blessed Soul
About 1700Italy (Naples)
In the style of Gaetano Giulio Zumbo
Coloured wax on glass and painted copper, with mirror glass, quartz and mica
Bequeathed by Lady de Gex
Museum no. A.65-1938
A Soul in Purgatory
About 1620–30Italy (Naples)
Possibly by Giovanni Bernardo Azzolino
Coloured wax on painted glass
Inscribed on the back of the frame in Latin ‘Have mercy upon me'
Given by the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine
- Museum number:
A.19-1982
- Gallery location:
Europe 1600-1815, Room 7, The Sheikha Amna Bint Mohammed Al Thani Gallery, case CA18
This small framed wax is one of a set of four showing souls in different states (see also A.20 to 22-1982). These highly realistic and dramatic wax tableaux served as ‘memento mori’, intended to inspire thoughts on mortality. Wax modelling had already acquired a certain status by the sixteenth century, as it is ideal for producing the type of intricate workmanship on a small scale which can be seen in this object, and enhanced by the use of colour and texture to mimic flesh. The inscription on the back of the frame, ' Mors malis vita bonis' is Latin for 'Death to the bad, life to the good' and is from the text of the Lauda Sion, which is a sequence sung during the Corpus Christi mass, written by the thirteenth-century theologian, Thomas Aquinas.