Der Papst und sein Kardinal oder: Staatsporträt und Krisenmanagement im barocken Rom

• Autores: Philipp Zitzlsperger
• Localización: Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, ISSN 0044-2992, Vol. 64, Nº. 4, 2001, págs. 547-561
• Idioma: alemán
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• Resumen

  • Gianlorenzo Bernini's 1632 portrait busts of Pope Urban VIII (Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome) and Cardinal Scipione Borghese (Galleria Borghese, Rome) are discussed. The works, both commissioned at the same time by Urban VII, should be seen as a “double portrait,” although they were not designed to be presented together. Urban's portrait is idealized, whereas the portrait of the cardinal is incredibly expressive and lifelike. The works are state portraits, political artworks that allude to the duo's professional profiles rather than their personalities. The bust of the Pope represents the absolutist, strict and just ruler of the church state, while the cardinal with his jovial liveliness represents the magnificence and splendor of the church state. Bernini's political message is thus: The ruler and his courtier. The double portrait offered the Pope a way of ensuring the loyal support of Cardinal Borghese in the internal curial power struggle and also a means of effectively stating his claim to absolute power.