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4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2024.
Bust of the Savior
4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2024.
4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2024.

Bust of the Savior

Artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598-1680)
Dateca. 1679
MediumMarble
Dimensions36 1/2 × 13 in. (92.7 × 33 cm)
Other: 510 lb. (231.3 kg)
ClassificationsEuropean art
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.2043
Terms
  • Jesus
  • Religion
  • Christianity
  • White
  • Rome
On View
On view
DescriptionA monumental marble bust of Christ, who looks heavenward. His right hand is raised in blessing, and his left hand is tucked beneath the right, with only the wrist being visible.

Label TextGian Lorenzo Bernini Italian, 1598–1680 Bust of the Savior, ca. 1679 Marble Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an international art celebrity. Near the end of his life, Bernini created a bust-length figure of Christ for Queen Christina of Sweden. Two other versions survive, and recently scholars have been investigating if Benini himself sculpted this, or if it was produced by his workshop. At a 2017 exhibition in Rome, the Chrysler bust was shown beside one from a church in Rome that is more polished and finished, but without the drilling in the beard, a technique for which Bernini was famous. The lower wrist in the Chrysler bust is alo more accurately carved, suggesting this bust is less likely a copy, or workshop version. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2043
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