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	Info
	Bust of Bishop Ulpiano Volpi 1640s Bronze, height 58 cm Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan
	Bust of a member of the Pamphilj family after 1644 Marble Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome
	Bust of Elisabetta Contucci Coli 1648 Marble San Domenico, Perugia
	Bust of Monsignor Antonio Cerri 1637-40 Marble, height 86 cm City Art Gallery, Manchester
	Bust of Pope Innocent X 1640s Marble Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome
	Bust of Pope Innocent X (detail) 1640s Marble Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome
	Bust of Pope Innocent X after 1647 Bronze and porphyry Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome
	Pope Innocent X 1640s Bronze, 78 x 82 cm (without base) Museum of Art, Cleveland
	Cardinal Laudivio Zacchia 1626 Marble Staatliche Museen, Berlin
	Cardinal Laudivio Zacchia (detail) 1626 Marble Staatliche Museen, Berlin
	Bust of Cardinal Giovanni Garzia Mellini 1637-38 Marble, life-size Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome
	Bust of Donna Olimpia Maidalchini 1646-47 Marble, height 70 cm Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome
	Monument of Odoardo Santarelli c. 1640 Marble Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
	Tomb of Giovanni Savenier and his Cousin 1638 Marble Santa Maria dell'Anima, Rome
	Bust of Cardinal Paolo Emilio Zacchia c. 1650 Terracotta, height 83 cm Victoria and Albert Museum, London