Bust of the Savior
ArtistAttributed to
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
(Italian, 1598-1680)
CultureItalian
Dateca. 1679
MediumMarble
Dimensions36 1/2 × 13 in. (92.7 × 33 cm)
Other: 510 lb. (231.3 kg)
Other: 510 lb. (231.3 kg)
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.2043
Collections
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 205
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 ProvenanceThe artist, 1679-1680; Queen Christina of Sweden, Rome, 1680-1689; Pope Innocent XI, Odescalchi, 1689; The Palazzo Odescalchi, 1713; Vicomte Jacques de Canson, Paris, 1952; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum, 1971.Exhibition History"Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk," for the benefit of The Chrysler Museum Art Reference Library, Wildenstein & Co., New York, N. Y., April 13 - May 13, 1978. (Exh. cat. no. 13) "Work of the Month," Chrysler Museum of Art, April, 1981. "Gian Lorenzo Bernini: 1598 - 1680," National Gallery of Art, Sept. 27, 1998 - Jan. 3, 1999. “Bernini, ”Galleria Borghese, Rome, October 31, 2017 – February 4, 2018 Published ReferencesIrving Lavin. "Bernini's Death," _Art Bulletin_. 54. New York : College Art Association of America. 1972:159-186. Irving Lavin. "Afterthoughts on 'Bernini's Death'," _Art Bulletin_. 55. New York : College Art Association of America. 1973:429-433. Eric M. Zafran and Mario Amaya. _Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk_. Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum. 1978. No. 13. Eric Zafran. "From the Renaissance to the Grand Tour," _Apollo_. Volume 107, no. 194. 04/1978:pp. 4-15, ill. Irving Lavin. "On the Pedestal of Bernini's Bust of the Savior," _Art Bulletin_. 60. New York : College Art Association of America. 1978:548-549. Nancy Jacobson. "Spotlight: Bernini's Bust of the Savior," _The Chrysler Museum Bulletin_. Vol. 11, no. 3. Norfolk: Chrysler Museum. 03/1981:p. 4, ill. Chrysler Museum. _Selections from the Permanent Collection: The Chrysler Museum_. Norfolk, VA: Chrysler Museum of Art. 1982: p. 33. Catherine M. Soussloff. "Old Age and Old-Age Style in the 'Lives' of Artists: Gianlorenzo Bernini," _Art Journal_. Vol. 46, no. 2. 06/1987:pp. 117-119, ill. fig. 4. Bruno Contardi, Giovanna Curcio, Elena Bianca Di Gioia. _Le Immagine del Santissimo Salvatore: Fabbriche e Sculture per l'Ospizio Apostolico dei Poveri Invalidi_. Roma : De Luca edizioni d'arte. 1988. pp.229-283. Jefferson C. Harrison. _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings_. The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, 1991, p. 46, #37. Charles Scribner III. _Gianlorenzo Bernini_. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers. 1991:pp. 126-127, colorplate 42. Charles Avery. _Bernini Genius of the Baroque_. London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1997, 177. Irving Lavin. _Bernini e il Salvatore_. Rome: Donzelli editore. 1998: illustrated no. 10-14. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 31, fig. 24. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1 Achim Böhmer and Sara Hausmann, _Retrodesign Stylelab_ (Mainz: Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz, 2009), 186. ISBN: 978-3-87439-726-1
