Bust and pedestal, gilt bronze on wood, of Pope Sixtus V, by Bastiano Torrigiani, Italy (Rome), 1585 - 1590

Bronze bust of Pope Sixtus V on a wooden pedestal. Sixtus is represented in full-face, wearing a cope decorated with figures of (left) Justice and (right) Plenty and held by a morse with a putto's head. Below is a moulded socle ornamented with a garland, cast in one piece with the bust. On a painted wooden pedestal with the Peretti arms.

Bequeathed by Mr Henry Harris

Bequeathed by Mr. Henry Harris.

Historical significance: A bronze bust of Pope Sixtus V by Bastiano Torrigiani is recorded in the Vigna Peretti (later Vigna Montalto) by Baglione (Le vite de' pittori, scultori et architetti. Dal pontificato di Gregorio XIII del 1572 in fino a' tempi di Papa Urbano VIII nel 1642, Rome 1642, p. 324). The bust is described in the Villa Montalto in a number of later guide books, and also mentioned by Massimo (Notizie istoriche della Villa Massimo alle Terme Diocleziane, Rome 1836, p. 164). In 1784 the bust was sold and eventually ended up in the collection of Cardinal Nicola Grimaldi, who in 1835 donated it to the Duomo at Treia, near Macerata.
In 1807 a bust of Sixtus V was exhibited in Paris. If this was identical with the one presented by Cardinal Grimaldi to the Duomo at Treia, it may have been removed by Napoleon I, and later returned to Italy.
The original wooden base of the present bust does not seem to be the pedestal described by Massimo in the 19th century ('uno sgabellone di noce intagliata'). On all four sides, the present pedestal bears painted and gilt emblems of the Peretti family: three mountains, a lion, shown wearing a cloth emblazoned with three mountains, a star, a lion's head with two pear branches issuing from his mouth, surmounted by a coronet. Because of the absence of the cardinal's hat or papal tiara, it seems unlikely that this belonged to the Pope or to Cardinal Montalto. It has been suggested that the pedestal might be associable with Prince Michele Peretti (d. 1631).
Except for some details in the region of the collar, the present bust coincides with the one in Treia and both may have been cast from the same mould. A related version, also by Torrigiani, is in the Staatliches Museen, Berlin; this bust, with the head turned slightly to the right, is cast in a single piece and lacks the bronze socle.

Pope Sixtus V (1521-1590), born Felice Peretti, was Pope from 1585 to 1590. A dedicated Franciscan and two-time inquisitor general for Venice, Sixtus was elected pope at a time when the Papal States were in chaos. He suppressed brigandage and restored order using harsh measures that won him many enemies. He raised vast sums through loans, taxes, and the sale of offices and carried out an extensive building program in Rome. He defined the Sacred College of Cardinals (1586), limiting the number of cardinals to 70, and his reforms of the Roman Curia (1588) lasted until the Second Vatican Council. An energetic supporter of the Council of Trent, whose decisions he implemented, Sixtus is recognized as one of the founders of the Counter-Reformation. His foreign policy was aimed at combating Protestantism; he excommunicated the Protestant Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV of France) and promised subsidies in return for a Spanish invasion of England. He supported other Catholic rulers in Europe and moderated his position towards Henry when it became apparent that the future king would convert to Catholicism.

This bust of Pope Sixtus V (born Felice Peretti) is stated by the biographer Baglione (1642) to have been made by Torrigiani. Originally in the Vigna Peretti, it was sold in 1784, and was presented by Cardinal Grimaldi to the cathedral at Treia, near Macerata. The present bust differs from that at Treia, but is by the same hand. The wooden base is original and is decorated with emblems of the Peretti family. The Pope is shown wearing a cope (semi circular cloak) decorated with figures of (left) Justice and (right) Plenty. Torrigiani was active in Rome in the workshop of Guglielmo della Porta (1515-77), which he took over after Guglielmo's death.
During his short rule as Pope (1585–90), Sixtus V advanced the Counter Reformation both politically and intellectually. He threatened to excommunicate the future French King for flirting with Protestantism and founded a printing press at the Vatican. Although Torrigiani shows Sixtus wearing church robes, his vivid portrait depicts the man rather than the symbols of his office.

A.40:0, 1-1950