BERNINI, Gian Lorenzo
(b. 1598, Napoli, d. 1680, Roma)

Bust of Giovan Battista Santoni

c. 1610
Marble, life-size
Santa Prassede, Rome

Probably carved around 1610 when the sculptor was twelve years old, the bust of Santoni demonstrates an ability to fashion works that more mature rivals would have envied.Inevitably the bust reveals the tutelage of the sculptor's father in the features and in the almost imperceptible transitions from skin to hair; in format it falls within the conventions of Roman funerary monuments of the period.