Pope Clement X
Bust
ca. 1676 (made)
ca. 1676 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This bust represents Pope Clement X and is made by an unknown sculptor in Rome, in ca. 1676.
The portrait shows the Pope at the age of 86, and thus must have been modelled between his 86th birthday, which was celebrated on 13 July, 1676, and his death nine days later. The Pope, though stricken with dropsy, continued to give audiences until five days before his death.
The portrait shows the Pope at the age of 86, and thus must have been modelled between his 86th birthday, which was celebrated on 13 July, 1676, and his death nine days later. The Pope, though stricken with dropsy, continued to give audiences until five days before his death.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Pope Clement X (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Terracotta |
| Brief description | Bust, terracotta, of Pope Clement X, Italian (Rome), ca. 1676 |
| Physical description | The Pope is shown wearing a short square beard and moustache with head turned slightly to his right. He has a habit with a deep colw. At the back an inscription. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'CLEMENS.X.PONT / MAX.AN.VI. / AETAT.86.' (at the back of bust) |
| Object history | Purchased in London (Alfred Spero, £90). Previously in the collection of Lord Hatherton. Historical significance: The portrait shows the Pope at the age of 86, and thus must have been modelled between his 86th birthday, which was celebrated on 13 July, 1676, and his death nine days later. The Pope, though stricken with dropsy, continued to give audiences until five days before his death. The beard is shorter and wider than in other representations of the Pope, and the head is related neither to the half-length marble figure of the Pope in benediction from the Bernini workshop in the Palazzo Altieri nor to the plaster reproduction of a lost bust by Bernini in Santa Maria di Montesanto. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This bust represents Pope Clement X and is made by an unknown sculptor in Rome, in ca. 1676. The portrait shows the Pope at the age of 86, and thus must have been modelled between his 86th birthday, which was celebrated on 13 July, 1676, and his death nine days later. The Pope, though stricken with dropsy, continued to give audiences until five days before his death. |
| Bibliographic reference | Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume II: Text. Sixteenth to Twentieth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, p. 624, cat. no. 658 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.18-1957 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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