Portrait busts
by Alessandro ALGARDI

Algardi's portrait busts are much less flamboyant or self-consciously artistic in character than those of Bernini. Where Bernini sought movement and engagement in his portraits, Algardi's approach was more understated, and more concerned with evoking presence through minute attention to physiognomy. His busts seem more aloof because they functioned generally as part of funerary monuments where meditation and piety were the primary requirements. The hallmarks of his approach to portraiture were established by the mid-1630s.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Bust of Bishop Ulpiano Volpi
1640s
Bronze, height 58 cm
Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan

1000*1071
True Color
99 Kb



Bust of a member of the Pamphilj family
after 1644
Marble
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

861*853
True Color
167 Kb



Bust of Elisabetta Contucci Coli
1648
Marble
San Domenico, Perugia

1600*1189
True Color
256 Kb



Bust of Monsignor Antonio Cerri
1637-40
Marble, height 86 cm
City Art Gallery, Manchester

1200*1600
True Color
182 Kb



Bust of Pope Innocent X
1640s
Marble
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

1499*2100
True Color
227 Kb



Bust of Pope Innocent X (detail)
1640s
Marble
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

602*806
True Color
93 Kb



Bust of Pope Innocent X
after 1647
Bronze and porphyry
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

1230*1800
True Color
277 Kb



Pope Innocent X
1640s
Bronze, 78 x 82 cm (without base)
Museum of Art, Cleveland

1792*2100
True Color
234 Kb



Cardinal Laudivio Zacchia
1626
Marble
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

1785*2100
True Color
235 Kb



Cardinal Laudivio Zacchia (detail)
1626
Marble
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

600*800
True Color
111 Kb



Bust of Cardinal Giovanni Garzia Mellini
1637-38
Marble, life-size
Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome

2100*1550
True Color
259 Kb



Bust of Donna Olimpia Maidalchini
1646-47
Marble, height 70 cm
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

1383*2100
True Color
248 Kb



Monument of Odoardo Santarelli
c. 1640
Marble
Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome

1700*1649
True Color
284 Kb



Tomb of Giovanni Savenier and his Cousin
1638
Marble
Santa Maria dell'Anima, Rome

1600*1200
True Color
178 Kb



Bust of Cardinal Paolo Emilio Zacchia
c. 1650
Terracotta, height 83 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

1769*1900
True Color
293 Kb




Works by Alessandro Algardi
Portrait busts | Tomb monuments
Meeting of Leo I and Attila | Various