ALGARDI, Alessandro
(b. 1598, Bologna, d. 1654, Roma)

The Meeting of Leo I and Attila (detail)

1646-53
Marble
Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican

A strict classicist, Algardi succeeds in assembling on the white surface a "continuum" of emotions which refer back to each other: from the astonished trainbearer to the imperious pope, the awestricken barbarian, the apostles St Peter and St Paul threatening him with drawn swords from the stormy sky above. Rounded shapes and flattened relief are interwoven in the subtle spatial architecture organized by the artist.