SEGÚN GIAN LORENZO BERNINI

(1598 / 1680)

ACCORDING TO GIAN LORENZO BERNINI Naples, Italy (1598) / Rome, Italy (1680) "Saint Bibiana", Rome, late 17th century - early 18th century

Bronze Between 1624 and 1626 Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598- 1680) made the sculpture in “Santa Bibiana” marble commissioned by Pope Urban VIII as part of the renovation of his homonymous church in Rome, his first architectural project, where it is still preserved. The present bronze, due to its high-quality modeling and slightly reddish tone, was probably made in Rome in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. As Philippe Malgouyres indicates, the lost wax casting technique would be used from a high-quality terracotta model, which was surely molded from the original marble. These types of bronze reductions of Bernini's works are quite rare and especially with religious themes, as is this case. Of this Saint Bibiana, only a couple of other examples that appeared on the international art market are known (Drouot, Paris, December 9, 1994, lot 52 and Christie's New York, June 2, 1993, lot 221). It is also worth mentioning that François Crozat, Marquis of Châtel (1691-1750), secretary of King Louis XV of France, owned a bronze Saint Bibiana, which was believed to have been cast from the model of Bernini's statue recorded in the catalog of the posthumous sale of his collection in Paris on December 14, 1750. This reference confirms the existence of this type of works in the first half of the 18th century and opens a possibility as to their provenance. Provenance: -Private collection -Sotheby's, “Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art”, London, July 2, 2019, lot 70 -Private collection, Madrid Reference bibliography: - Malgouyres, P., “Apollo and Daphne, and Other Bronze Groups after Bernini”, in J. Warren (ed.), “Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes in and around the Peter Marino Collections”, London, 2013, pp. 68-83 - Bacchi and Coliva, A. “Bernini”, Borghese Gallery exhibition catalogue, Rome, 2017 Measurements: 47.2 cm high