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Chapman University Digital Commons
Art Faculty Articles and Research
2010
Baciccio's Beata Ludovica Albertoni Distributing
Alms
Karen J. Lloyd
Chapman University, lloyd@chapman.edu
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Archaeology Commons
Recommended Citation
Lloyd, Karen J. "Baciccio's Beata Ludovica Albertoni Distributing Alms." Getty Research Journal 2 (2010): 1-18.
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Art
Baciccio's Beata Ludovica Albertoni Distributing Alms
Comments
This article was originally published in Getty Research Journal, volume 2, in 2010.
Copyright
The author
This article is available at Chapman University Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/art_articles/16
Beata Luaovica
Baciccio's
AlbertoniDistributing Alms
Karen
[n 1970,
J. Lloyd
the Getty
Gaulli
Museum
known
(1639-1709),
work was
previously
Geneva.1
Burton
Anne, 1674)
look
and
Bussi
Albertoni
Ludovica
the patron
in which
for Baciccio's
on the artistic
ments
than has thus far been
a Ripa
her head,
Alms wears
man
bare-shouldered
holds
bowl
black
and
man
the middle
hand.
woman,
Two
are two
presumably
composition
but unspecific,
Although
white
Roman
Santa
veil and holding
monastery
Getty Research
the context
reexamin
Bernini,
a more
and positing
com
some
active
in San Francesco
chapel
the distinct
Beata
offers
a small
Albertoni
loaf
loaves
who
tight to her waist,
an infant
for distribution.
examine
at center,
on her generosity.
trees
another
moves
away,
in
food
in
the
on the left side, the
the figures
that partially
against
while
toward
and gesturing
conversing
Behind
Leaning
of the loaves,
to her shoulder
held
to a burly,
veil. At her feet are a plain
unruly
of bread
Distributing
of bread
to her right. Her left hand,
up the energetically
of thick
Ludovica
of a nimbus
glow
obscure
familiar,
vaguely
buildings.
Francesca
a book—as
founded
Journal,
noblewoman,
us to make
Lorenzo
of the Altieri
and
veil
in the distance
to a landscape
classical
white
children
with
remarking
opens
Romana
we can identify
subject,
allows
the two artists
in Baciccio's
and two more
animated
appear
figures
and
draws
a mother
ground
also
that underscores
on the ground
seated
filled with dark liquid
the seated
woman
dress
red book
a bright
Roman
assumed.
the young
a long
A closer
1676).2
and reconstruct
and Gian
in the decoration
in front of a dark wall
Silhouetted
around
between
influence
another
precisely,
Baciccio
between
relationship
role for Baciccio
and independent
Knowing
and Child with Saint
Xavier,
the correct
this information
Establishing
of creative
ing the currents
rather
the work
on similari
figure is not Francesca
main
1384-1440),but
redate
Francis
in
collection
based
1675/76,
Madonna
(The
of Saint
(Death
(1473-1533).
picture,
it was produced.
a Ripa
Francesco
Alms, the
Giving
only to a private
back
in
on the market
Romana
Francesca
Battista
Giovanni
appeared
to around
that the painting's
reveals
de' Ponziani,
recently
going
the painting
al Quirinale
Sant'Andrea
Francesca
(born
dated
for San
altarpieces
at the iconography
the Beata
the provenance
unknown,
B. Fredricksen
ties to Baciccio's
had
as Saint
in the collection
master
by the Genoese
which
as Baciccio,
(fig. 1). Identified
London
a painting
acquired
Romana
is traditionally
in the altarpiece
by the saint
(fig. 2) —the
in the chapel
Getty
dress
and
of Tor de' Specchi,
the
shown
in a black
painting
lacks
her guardian
no. 2 (2010): 1-18 © Karen J. Lloyd
1
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Fig. l. Giovanni
Battista
known
Gaulli,
Giving Alms [here identified
as Baciccio
(Italian,
Saint Francesco. Romana
1639-1709).
as Beata Ludovica Albertoni Distributing Alms], ca. 1675 [here dated 1671],
oil on canvas, 210.2 x 137.2 cm (82V4 x 54 in.). Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum
her
angel,
constant
of the
identification
the
bread,
child,
calls
hand.
who
which,
is the
attention
Ayounger
figure.3
figure
only
to this
detail
brother
iconographical
who
noted
for her
The
in the
as seen
standard
was
and
attribute,
this
omission
have
key iconographical
element
center
is studded
to look
foreground,
out
of the
to several
silver
directly
by pointing
clambers
up to grab
attribute
of the Beata
charity
should
and
beatified
at them.
The
Ludovica
in January
raised
with
and
that
1671
The
coins.4
in her right
of bread
a Franciscan
by Pope
Clement
(reigned 1670-76).5
2
GETTY
RESEARCH
eldest
the viewer,
engage
loaf
the
is instead
painting
she holds
coin-studded
Albertoni,
about
questions
in this
painting
pieces
(70.PA.30)
JOURNAL, NO. 2 (2010)
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is a
tertiary
X Altieri
Sfe^;wHr-:A'Xi':
STI'.VJE-Blf,!
(&ANYM
ifSp\ou».J 1
flEgmw
A\u*/-VET. K iA svs
lk' '.fXVN
tSPISTl
?AVE:fe'.
Fig. z. Antoniazzo
Romana
(detail),
delle Oblate
Romano
(Italian,
before
1452-between
1468, altar fresco. Rome, Monastero
di S. Francesca
1508 and 1512) and studio.
di Tor de' Specchi.
Santa Francesca
courtesy Monastero
Photograph
Romana
Lloyd
Baciccio's
Beata Luaovica
Albertoni
3
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Ludovica
The
date
Altieri
s feast day was
of her beatification
(from
Ludovica's
direct
on the Curia.7
the new Altieri
society,
first, active
new
on the role
Laura
Ludovica
the Genoese
frame
Baciccio
made
age; two of these
and Baciccio
described
est surviving
monumental
io these
Battista
Gaulli
and
took
1720),
heir to the
was
only Angelo
suggests
of the literature
on
figure in family projects,
Bernini's
was
another
Ludovica
(died
sole
strongly
much
work
in the Altieri
unveiled
monumental
Albertoni
in 1705, also
marble
was
honoring
the Holy Family
Adoring
Angelo
like
profound:
evidently
in Campitelli,
depiction
of Santa
precise
Altieri's
"The
4
Maria
and Carlo
for "Prencipe
also
the patron
of
in the main
also
familiar
intimately
process
it was
were
to prove
called
of Ludovica's
records
is ordered
in recognition
Bellori
iconography
was
between
evidence,
namely
for the years
to make
of a painting
GETTY RESEARCH
Baciccio,
1670
the payment
of the Beata
image.
upon
for
experts
in art
were
of the
and Baciccio.15
and swore
fresco
that the earli
of her cult.16
Albertoni,
the receipt
of 105 scudi
and
for the Getty
1671 include
Ludovica
Bellori
in the Albertoni
Ludovica
and
in
As
that she had been
of the longevity
proof
frame
(1623-44),
of Ludovica
depictions
Pietro
of her, a sixteenth-century
documentary
VIII
The
Giovanni
d'Aracoeli,
Ludovica's
Urban
Altieri
includ
with a gold
with
by Pope
inven
in their palace,
fundamental
years.14
and Altieri
Altieri,"12
and another
gallery
Ratti, tell us that
Giuseppe
of the beata
paintings
connections
payment
bookkeeper
Painter
Pascoli
to testify that existing
element
circumstantial
Angelo
several
one hundred
witnesses
each
we can add
entry:
Maria
paintings"
was
and artists
in the church
Lione
to be successful
for at least
history, connoisseurs,
lowing
that
who
1698),
Of the three,
oversaw
to find that
to the beatification
beatification
venerated
painting.
"some
with a black
guardaroba.n
necessary
Beata
biographers,
had
of changes
the Altieri,
moved
pope
Albertoni.
that the family
one"
Ludovica's
:hapel
of Roman
accumulat
Gaspare
removed
Albertoni
and features
Ottoni's
artist produced
ing a "large
to Ludovica
in Santa
(died
as the decisive
for and
paid
once
family.9 Although
Paluzzo
not be a surprise
s earliest
indicate
actively
echelons
and his art patronage
hierarchy,
who
chapel
Lorenzo
It should
Baciccio
a result
family,
his hold
families—within
Paluzzo
father.
Gaspare's
identifies
to the beata
namely
(1696-1702).11
Baciccio's
family
dedication
dedication
her memory,
the lower
Emilio
strengthen
of art.8 The
to the pope;
X's first cousin
1706),
Angelo
man
right-hand
ties to his natal
his funerary
chapel,
has a shared
(died
instinctively
that it was
(fig. 3) .10 Angelo's
the Altieri
tories
works
of Cardinal
composed
Clement
Altieri,
the strongest
patronage
chapel
Cardinal
time in power,
to the glory of both
adding
and
role in the new
that he retained
know
was
nephew
and Angelo
a clear
we now
and
to the highest
of their short
1671.
of the Albertoni
survival
monumental
constructing
AJtien family
fortune;
Altieri
1669
members
nobility
the most
their ancestor—and
of cardinal
married
without
made
and 1670,
year of his reign.
The
family
and
three
his family's
from shabby
nephews
incomes
swiftly, beatifying
who
vaulted
for the first time on 31 January
between
X) adopted
to ensure
descendents,
Abruptly
ing substantial
Clement
on, Pope
1670
celebrated
officially
is not coincidental:
the fol
to Giovanni
made
JOURNAL, NO. 2 (2010)
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for our
Altieri, San Francesco
Fig. 3. Cappella
31 January
use,
than
or early
significant
style
as we
yet one
and
middle-ground
a distance
can
shall
Ludovica
Albertoni,
The
or that
figures
slightly
it was
raw quality
executed
end
of January
such
suggests
either
late
begun
1671.18
It has
we
in 1670
suffered
in
particularly
as a visible
that
by
what
given
pentimento
it was
the latter
haste;
supported
is rough,
in details
in some
and
probably
execution
original
and
by the payment
provided
timeframe,
was
painting
by the
the
date
by Fredricksen
a reasonable
The
see,
that
see
The
painting
within
artist.
background
left hand.19
from
of the
finished,
damage,
in Ludovica's
seen
and
Getty
yet it falls
delPArco,
Altieri."17
Angelo
for the
proposed
developing
in 1671
scudi,
1671.105
that
Fagiolo
of the
know
the
22nd
February
Maurizio
on the feast day of Beata
Photo: Karen J. Lloyd
2009.
is earlier
a Ripa, Rome
meant
to be
the more
appears
likely conclusion.
The
Louis
Enggass
observed
toni
Albertoni
in Santa
that
would
shares
almost
precisely
shares
Maria
Baciccio
in his lower
particularly
his knee
Beltran
record
by the payment
provided
the Ludovica
example,
Saint
date
half,
Minerva,
sopra
Beltran
depicted
where
suffice
these
significant
the
characteristics,
Lloyd
"length
for an entire
Baciccio's
leg."21
which
corroborates
the stylistic
similarities
which
with
Baciccio's
elongated
Getty
picture
found
Albertoni
saint's
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5
of
Robert
proportions,
waist
of Ludovica
in Bernini's
For
picture
1671 to 1674.20
the kneeling
are also
Beata Ludovica
is dated
distinctly
between
The
with
evidence.
later
and
Alber
works,
such
as the angels
exaggerated,
installed
tion
long, gently
executed
One
curving
of the pressing
Altieri's]
(per
suggests
that
the painting
nostro
date
make
place
below.
amount
connection
stress
of bread
added
an early
Cetera
three
had
she died
in 1533 and was
"or their
emphasis
or the
1671,
January
On
hypothesis.
of a "very
with
of
of Ludovica's
this
supports
Ludovica's
frame
large
a plaster
ground."23
then
payment,
feast day, also
that it was
of the sacrament
fits the timeline
under
a Ripa
Given
(1674).27
as the main
we see
the edge
before
the size,
references
iconographical
employed
eye level:
had the painting
appropriate
Francesco
of the beata
Albertoni
however,
before
della
Bernini
and
date,
to the Eucha
altarpiece
on her charity
chapel,
her life she was
at mass
the first
during
deeds
in 1506.
to undergo
the host,
than
to a religious
Giacomo
family
and prayer,
chapel
miraculous
in San
experi
her vite are more
for miracles,
della
In her widowhood,
her life to charity
her husband's
seen
herself
she married
death
after receiving
and good
to devote
instead
and devoted
in the Altieri
during
desired
and
Cetera's
of Franciscans
buried
levitating
chapel
just
on the tiny
day in 1671.
Ludovica
Although
in San
with its clear
that it was
been
taken
of the paint
Aspects
above
but not significantly
have
in the
have
to subsist
the mass.26
during
as an altar
just visible
her seventeenth-century
the ability
to be installed
would
for use
that would
as well:
was
qualities
meant
intended
and the dark liquid
to Ludovica
for his statue
the third order
for example,
around
date,
is that
[Angelo's,
in the celebration
burnished
half of the painting,
daughters
joined
a Ripa.
"for our
for the gilding
of bread
pertain
prevailed,
Ludovica
ences,
that both
Albertoni
to in the 22 February
itself indicate
her saintly
feast
age
concerns
Francesco
the day before
painting,
conclude
life.28 Familial
and
painting
in the Altieri
recess
of the beata's
t rom
entirely
an arrangement
of Baciccio's
celebration
to be paid
referred
that it was
the altar
safely
made
payment
Ludovica,
in the lower
Such
above
can
A further
that she consumed
indicate
an architectural
rist, one
to play a role
25 scudi
references
and wine
veil.
composition
definitely
canoniza
suggest
Ludovica
execution
proposed
to the enactment
that among
into the bowl
placed
would
and an
painting.24
Eucharistic
of Ludovica's
been
that it was
over an altar, the torn loaves
composition
down
month.
for the frame,
a direct
biographers
states
The
or the composition
Placed
bowl
was
Dominican's
two works
Baciccio's
regarding
intended
is the same
for Baciccio's
Aspects
ing's
was
of the Beata
that this
the payment
piece.25
painting
these
short torso
of Beltran
just after the Spanish
between
servitio).
ordered
1671, Angelo
for the altarpiece
suggested
made
payment
day on the 31st of that
Assuming
has a relatively
half. Baciccio's
questions
The
purpose.22
use"
30 January
been
similarities
stylistic
the beata
Angelo:
lower
early in 1671.
its intended
feast
Sant
by 1674, but it may have
in 1671. The
were
ror the Ponte
notable
ecstasies,
or mystic
Ludovica
Albertoni
experiences.
It is not surprising
md Francesca
is part
Romana,
of a deliberate
5
to tind a case
as a strong
canonization
of mistaken
congruence
strategy
GETTY RESEARCH
identity
between
long
between
the two women
undertaken
was
established
by the Albertoni
JOURNAL, NO. 2 (2010)
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family.
Fig. 4. Ludovica
16th century, fresco.
Albertoni,
Rome, San Francesco
a Ripa, Cappella
Altieri.
Photo: Karen J. Lloyd
Fig. 5. Ludovica
Bartolommeo
Both
all'Isola.
women
shown
along
church
Saints
of Santa
identifications
these
a piece
in chapel
together
and
Maria
three
times
in Bernini's
statue,
and
(fig. 4).
The
latter
a restatement
coins
was
and
to those
Although
Ludovica
ing the
but
San
Romana,
previously
of Santa
of this
that
to honor
main
source,
earlier
work.
the
fresco
located
Romana
were
on.
century
but
that
took
in the Altieri
captions,
the beata's
two
identically
campaign
element
unremarked,
Francesca
dressed
and
appear,
chapel
in the
labeled,
so the
around
place
1622,
Ludovica
by Cristoforo
fresco
to
frequently
They
chapel.31
fresco
sixteenth-century
Baciccio's
in another
are
devoted
particularly
The
of the Albertoni
the pendentive
chapel—in
presumably
been
sixteenth
pendentives
of a decorative
the
to have
veneration.29
the late
they
in an anonymous
no doubt
is replicated
chapel
in this
to the chapel
coming
in the
without
embellishment
are not visible,
from
where
As part
replicated,
represented
in constant
Cecilia,
d'Aracoeli,
clear.30
were
is known
Ludovica
of her veil
decorations
Agnes
are
frescoes
and
widows,
carrying
with
Santa Francesca
Rome, Cappella
Photo: Karen J. Lloyd
were
Francesca,
(?), fresco.
Albertoniy 17th century
is
Grippi,
to the right of the altar
in essence
his work
In this
simple
image,
of the story
would
have
reads
as
the hidden
been
familiar
memory.
anonymous
sixteenth-century
on the nave
in the
church
side
of San
of one
fresco
of the piers
Bartolommeo
of
fram
all'Isola
(fig. 5). While difficult to date due to significant damage and overpainting, the initial
fresco
dardized
likely
and
dates
from
narrowly
the seicento
diffused
and
indicates
in the topography
Baciccio's
that
Ludovica's
of Rome.32
Beata Ludovica
Again,
iconography
it is notable
Albert oni
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was
that
stan
this
COMPENDIO
DEI,
LA
LODOVICA
DELLA
ALBERTONI
CETERA
VEDOVA
RELIGIOSA
Con
B E A T A
E L L A.
D
VITA
DEL
ROMANA
TERZ'ORDINE
DI
SAN
FRANCESCO
I'aggiwua d'alcuni Epigrdmmi di CeJare Solatij Romano ,
Dcdicato aU'IIluftriffimo, & iccellentiffimo
Sig. Principe
DON
GASPARO
NIPOTE
DI
NOSTRO
E GENERALE
IN
ROMA,
Fig. 6. Title page
showing
courtesy
8
DI SANTA
SIGNORE,
CHIESA
the Beata
Ludovica
Albertom
giving alms.
Albertoni della Cetera vedoua romana...
Biblioteca
GETTY
nazionale
RESEARCH
centrale
&c.
Gon lic(/f~*dc$upe>-iori.
Nclla Scampcrta del Manciui, 1671.
della vita della beata Lodouica
1671). Photograph
ALTIERI
From Cesare
(Rome:
Solatio,
Nella Stamperia
di Roma
JOURNAL,
Compendio
del Mancini,
NO. 2 (2010)
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mage
of Ludovica
tome,
notes
Solatio
:ogether,
two
these
one
next
by the Roman
idored
md in Baciccio's
of Roman
ler order
part of a deliberate
Franciscan
strategy
ongoing
Romana
:anonized
Francesca
their quest
to gain recognition
linked
through
where
each
word
to connect
the two women.
was
the pairing
must
The
successfully
two were
The
of Ludovica's
of the persistence,
in
family
consistently
in the city,
elsewhere
encouraged
been
have
for the Albertoni
of an ancestor.
evidence
further
but rather
meant
as an affirmation
acted
of the oblates,
of her vestments
and
image,
and was
hierarchy
heavenly
and
a thin belt,
the choice
for the sanctity
for
Romana
up to the neck,
order,
exemplar
and
of Ludovica,
by Francesca
in fact a member
the best
depicted
revered
representations
chosen
Romana
were
were
they
with a collar
dress
never
provided
statement
public
black
was
frescoed
the habit
wears
a simple
oblates:
to the tertiary
belonged
the beata
heavenly
Cesare
Ludovica,
blessed
of
saints
Francesca
Santa
veneration
equal
In all of these
people."34
veil.35 As Ludovica
md a long white
with
and
other,
painting,
that before
and
underscoring
of the patron
of Beata
In his 1671 biography
matrons
glorious
to the
Romana,
one
Romana,
of consideration...
that it is "worthy
■vas canonized,
Francesca
V in 1608.33
by Paul
canonized
was
to Francesca
dedicated
the two women.
ties between
:he close
in a chapel
appears
in the
place
rightful
and longev
popularity,
ity of her cult.
his image
of Ludovica,
as the frontispiece
of Solatio's
In formulating
such
material,
an image
features
Ludovica
frontispiece,
since
cally accurate
His
bread.
The
the recipient
Baciccio,
and
Entering
Baciccio's
depiction
and works
of the chapel
how we view
in San
drawn
Francesco
the notion
in the last quarter
in reference
to several
by Francesco
Petrucci
work
late
in regard
Lloyd
charity
from the
and vite are
prints
where
painting,
a youth,
a
but instead
poverty.
under
Bernini
and the subsequent
suggests
for inspiration
The
has been
by Bernini.36
to Bernini's
idea
The
late works,
between
that Bernini
proposed
BeataLuaovicaAlbertoni
these
a shift in
two artists
in his later years
by Valentino
hypothesis
such
redecoration
that we consider
in the collaboration
century.
into tne sequence
Albertom
Ludovica
beatification
Baciccios
the
that
suggesting
in Baciccio's
is no longer
to her
Influence
agency
drawings
the subj ect, while
histori
receives
for the differences
account
in the
herself
of the man who
up his right foot,
can be seen
of the Beata
a Ripa
of creative
able to fully devote
of a kind of "heroic"
Reciprocal
of the seventeenth
on Baciccio's
Ludovica's
to Ludovica's
related
This
embodiment
Bernini,
of events
must
to heroize
tend
appeal.
beautiful
man—the
he holds
and
and purpose
popular
of the young,
muscled
substantial,
of rags
paintings
a more
she was
a Ripa
that is more
a detail
is given to the poverty
emphasis
in media
when
(fig. 6), which
are in the details;
differences
woman,
at printed
in the San Francesco
fresco
The
man.
looked
have
of the beata
1671 biography
as an older
shown
are composed
change
to have
to a poor
in her thirties
Greater
monumental
fresco;
intended
have
she was
clothes
he is lame.
chapel
is clearly
activities.
charitable
bread
giving
may also
to that in an anonymous
very similar
of Ludovica
:hapel,
Baciccio
was
mentioned
as the angels
may
Martinelli
designed
9
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again
for
Fig. 7. Giovanni
Battista
known
Gaulli,
as Baciccio
(Italian,
Anne, 1674, oil on canvas, 242 x 133 cm (95.3 x 52.4in.).
The Holy Family with Saint
1639-1709).
Rome, San Francesco
a Ripa, Cappella
Altieri.
Photo: Karen J. Lloyd
Ponte
Baciccio's
Sant'Angelo.37
tied
are closely
own,
Baciccio
devastated
met,
is believed
the
it is generally
Baciccio
Rome.
is often
to fully translate
Baciccio's
most
of the Jesuit
aspect
to dissolve
painted
figures
chapel,
by Bernini
graphic
from
Genoa
known
his
continued
fame
been
paint.38
frescoes
in the
his close
attributed
circumspect,
namely
use
are tumbling
into
the real
space
that
Bernini
and
makes
clear
Bernini
provided
the Holy
depicted
statue
between
io
Saint
Family
Anne
installed
the various
GETTY
design
and
with
Saint
Anne
the features
elements
RESEARCH
cited
with
most
to have
Mod
innovative
sculpture,
and
create
illusion
the
to
regard
the general
Oliva,
the
able
was
to Bernini.39
design
in
arrival
who
architecture
that
the
of the church.
Baciccio
(fig.
Baciccio's
Padre
with
and
space
the
below
ties with
Bernini
Baciccio
as he is believed
Gesu,
of painting,
illusionistic
with
ego,
the plague
and
the man
is always
the fresco's
crediting
the unified
Bernini
after
alter
Bernini
through
even
soon
quite
after
shortly
when
exactly
of Berninian
and
in the
links
in Rome
real
depicting
Baciccio
and
between
for which
altarpiece
more
fresco,
barriers
Evidence
that
for Baciccio
been
of the main
into
the vault
project,
Contemporaries
have
time,
to have
as a kind
ideas
sculptor's
famous
order.
scholars
own
It is not
thought
presented
the commission
obtained
ern
the
arrived
to have
city in 1657.
Ligurian
although
in his
success
to Bernini.
8).40
main
sculpture
(fig. 7). Christopher
of Ludovica
With
of the chapel's
JOURNAL,
collaborated
openly
the
the
goal
on the Altieri
and
Baciccio
Johns
Albertoni
argued
as portrayed
of establishing
decoration,
has
the
Johns
NO. 2 (2010)
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icono
notes
that
the two
women
dressed
in a linen
from
hood
and
installed
by 1674;
this
timeline
would
the issue.
the assumption
in Baciccio's
examine
beata
her
own
project
creative
Ludovica
of Bernini's
depiction
it was
point
body
Ludovica
have
is defined
by the long
Fig. 8. Gian
Lorenzo
commissioned
was
of the beata
as it is seen
be modified
with
and
the discovery
on Bernini's
younger
in her life, presumably
just
appears
distorted
by ecstasy
commonalities.
line
(Italian,
In both
of the veil
1598-1680).
that
depictions
runs
from
Yet
of Anne
of his older
com
but
can
identifies
we can
sculpture.
these
passing
two
of the beata,
but well
of
depictions
her silhouette
of her head
the crown
the
shows
painting
a Ripa, CappellaAltieri.
Beata Ludovica
be
already
to her
Beata Ludovica Albertoni, 1674, Carrara marble,
90 x 210 x 80 cm (35.4 x 82.7 x 31.5 in.). Rome, San Francesco
Baciccio's
While
Ludovica
Photo: Scala /
Art Resource
Lloyd
time.42
that Johns
after her husband's
or death.44
in 1673
in light of Baciccio's
of Baciccio's
Bernini's—the
We know
is Bernini's,
today
the traits
Baciccio's
are both
to the chronology
should
In general,
same
the lead
following
for the chapel
of Ludovica
an active
at the
installed
than
sinuous
Bernini
of the eyes.41
was
influence
was
significant
side
depiction
authority
and
eyes,
to either
likely
Albertoni.
Moreover,
lidded
thickly
of the beata
Baciccio
earlier
the overall
Ludovica
at an earlier
before
of Baciccio's
that
was
that
and
and
statue
altarpiece
of the Beata
the possibility
Baciccio's
Bernini's
the notion
painting.43
nose"
above
upward
that
support
Surely,
as characteristic
found
peaks
of his complete
depiction
Roman
long
Baciccio's
the addition
collaborator,
earlier
that
evidence
documentary
plicates
a "rather
share
Albertoni
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11
waist
on her left side, and by a
jagged
chin to create
a sharp
the long
thick fold of cloth
already
present
in Baciccio's
bunches
Bernini's
Ludovica
Altieri chapel
toward
:an be firmly dated
there
is no way to discount
is no evidence
Tom
Francesco
Bernini's
as the paradigmatic
Yet Bernini's
alters
the sequence
a Ripa
and allows
legs, is
artists
place
that acts in coun
characteristics
Strinati
of
of Baciccio's
was
of her chapel
influence
or circumstantial
excessive
already
by Bernini
involved
prior.46
at this early
Without
of Baciccio's
in the development
us to bring the Genoese
chapel
two years
evidence.
that the discovery
of events
put forth the
with the Altieri
that Baciccio
and the decoration
conclude
Claudio
involvement
an undocumented
we can
Both
of salient
example
we now know
of it in the written
therefore,
fundamentally
in San
:hapel
a Ripa
his mentor.45
of Bernini's
the beata's
node
her
1671 painting.
and the Gesu,
Baciccio,
of the new beata
:her information,
Mbertoni
present
just under
feature
emphasized.
a number
in Baciccio's
noted
a dynamic
creating
of her legs. Thus
only from 1673, while
with the celebration
there
her waist,
it bunches
line between
not as heavily
although
on Bernini,
essay
in San Francesco
obsequiousness
Mthough
length
A frequently
that runs in a straight
of fabric around
are already
In a recent
stage,
work,
to the long, curved
terpoint
on the right where
line over her left shoulder.
statue,
undulating
contour
fur
Ludovica
of the Altieri
painter
out a little bit
shadow.
long
Karen
Lloyd
lernini
and is coeditor
is a PhD
candidate
at Rutgers
of a collection
University.
of essays
She has published
on the Roman
sculptor's
on Gian
Lorenzo
late work and an article
m thepatronage ofCardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini,bothofwhichare
forthcoming.
Notes
At the Getty, I would like to thank Scott Allan, Katja
Zelljadt, Jannon Stein, and Yvonne Szaf
ran for their gracious assistance
and Peter Bjorn Kerber for so enthusiastically
welcoming my discovery, and putting things in motion for this publication.
and the anonymous
i.
Getty Museum,
pioneering
reviewers of this article for their significant improvements
Burton B. Fredericksen,
on Baciccio:
Robert Enggass,
(University Park: Pennsylvania
discussion,
in Maurizio
II Baciccio, 1639-1709
2.
to the text.
1972), 51. As it only came to light in 1970, the painting does not appear
monograph
this painting,
Catalogue of the Paintings in the J. Paul GettyMuseum (Malibu:
1639-1709
Pantanella,
discussing
My thanks also to Tod Marder
J. Paul
in Enggass's
The Painting ofBaciccio, Giovanni Battista Gaulli,
State Univ. Press, 1964). The altarpiece is referenced, without
Fagiolo dell'Arco, Dieter Graf, and Francesco
Petrucci, eds., Giovan Battista Gaulli,
(Milan: Skira, 1999), 155 (fig. 23), 67; and Maurizio
Fagiolo dell'Arco
and Rossella
eds., Museo Baciccio: In margine a quattro inventari inediti (Rome: Antonio Pettini, 1996) ,51.
Fredericksen,
Catalogue (note 1), 51.
On Santa Francesca
and her monastery of the Tor de' Specchi, see
Giorgio Picasso, ed., Una
Santa Tutta Romana: Saggi e ricerche nel VI centenario della nascita di Francesca Bussa dei Ponziani
(1384-1984)
(Siena: Monte Oliveto Maggiore, 1984); illustrations of the cycle appear in Antonio Paolucci,
"Prodigy
Mother: Frescoes in the Convent of Tor de' Specchi," FMR 75
(1995): 78-95. Francesca Romana is typically
shown in the black dress and white veil that was the habit of her order
(which was under the protection
of the Monte Olivetan Benedictines), with a halo, an
open book in her hand, and a young angel at her side.
The book often has a visible inscription
reading: "Tenuisti manum dexteram mean et in voluntate tua
3.
deduxisti me et cum gloria suscepisti me (Ps. lxxii,
23.)." George Kaftal, Saints in Italian Art: Iconography of
the Saints in Central and Southern Italian Schools
of Painting (Florence: Sansoni, 1965), 447-67. On Francesca
12
GETTY RESEARCH
JOURNAL, NO. 2 (2010)
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iconography and her role m the seventeenth
Romana's
century as a plague saint, see Marc Fumaroli,
Poussin: Sainte Fran9oise Romaine annon^ant
'ex-voto' de Nicolas
etXVIIIe siecles (Dijon:
Rome a Paris: Peinture etpouvoirs auxXVIIe
Romana's
that the one constant in Francesca
Un
a Rome la fin de la peste," in idem, De
Faton, 2007),
106-63.
Fumaroli notes
iconography is her guardian angel, who is likely a kind of dei
fied surrogate for her son, who died at a young age during a plague.
Less frequently Francesca
4.
Romana was also shown with loaves or bread, but they are without
;oins and are in reference to a different miracle, namely when the saint miraculously
multiplied bread to
:eed the citizens of Rome during the plague of 1402. The loaves of bread appear prominently in a painting
rfthe saint by Guercino, dated 1656, where Marc Fumaroli has interpreted them as a symbolic representa
:ion of the theological
virtue of charity. They no doubt have a double meaning, drawing on both standard
imagery related to charity and the specific, miraculous,
See Fumaroli, "Un 'ex-voto'"
(note 3), 117.
The coins are generally not visible in sixteenth-century
5.
own vita.
example of the virtue from Francesca's
representations
or Ludovica, where
she is simply shown handing loaves of bread to the poor. Presumably at that time it was assumed that the
story would be familiar to viewers, who would know what the loaves contained.
appear prominently
in Lorenzo
Ottoni's
The coins do, however,
for the Altieri chapel in Santa
altarpiece
eighteenth-century
Maria in Campitelli, showing the beata in the midst of a vision of the holy family (1705). Almost two cen
turies after her death, it became necessary to visualize this aspect of Ludovica's
from living memory. On the altarpiece
and the chapel, see Alessandra
cappella Altieri e 'I pregi dell'architettura
sandro Albanipatrono
oda di Giambattista
hagiography, by then faded
Anselmi, "Sebastiano
Vaccondio,"'
Cipriani: La
ed„ Ales
in Elisa Debenedetti,
delle arti: Architettura, pittura e collezionismo nella Roma del '700 (Rome: Bonsignori
Editori, 1993), 203-17.
6.
Magnum Bullanum
7.
Gaspare
Romanum, vol. 7 (Graz: Akademischen
Druck- & Verlagsanstalt,
1965),
86-87.
Albertoni was adopted
in 1669 when he wed Laura Altieri and took her name ana
coat of arms. After Cardinal Emilio Altieri was elected to the papal throne in 1670, he adopted
uncle, Paluzzo,
ieipapi:
Gaspare's
and father, Angelo. On the Altieri family under Clement X, see Ludwig Von Pastor, Storia
Dallafine
del medio evo, vol. 14.1 (Rome: Desclee,
Mtieri (Rome: Associazione
1961), 628-44;
and Armando
Schiavo, Palazzo
Bancaria Italiana, 1962).
8.
Schiavo, Palazzo Altieri (note 7); and Franco Borsi et al., Palazzo Altieri (Rome: hditaha, 1991;.
9.
Angelo's superfluousness
raries. Venetian ambassador
to the family and political structure was also noted by contempo
Pietro Mocenigo
Angelo Altieri e fratello [of Cardinal
reported back to the Serenissima:
Paluzzo]
con cui passa buona corrispondenza
insieme per procurare li mezzi valevoli per fare accrescere
le ricchezze
e ben s'intendono
della casa nel resto nelle materie
publiche, e nelle distributioni del governo non ne ha questo alcuna parte anzi fuori della sfera de' provecci
privati, ne ambisce, ne desidera alcuna ingerenza.
Ha egli la carica di Generale delle Galere quale ad altro
non serve, che a dargli il Titolo e gl'emolumenti.
(Angelo Altieri is the brother [of Cardinal Paluzzi], with whom he has a healthy relationship
and together they certainly intend to make use of valid methods to make the riches of the house
grow; for the rest, in public matters and in the distribution of the government he has no place,
rather, he is outside of the sphere of private incomes, nor does he aspire to, nor desire any
intrusion. He has the position of General of the Galleys, which has no other purpose than to give
him the title and income.)
Biblioteca
Apostolica
Vaticana,
Barb. lat. 5271, Relatione Delia Corte di Roma dell'Ecc.mo Signore Pietro
Mocenigo Ambre Veneto, 67V. All translations,
unless otherwise
noted, are my own. Angelo had no male
children other than Gaspare; his daughters Tarquinia and Ludovica
Domenico
married Egidio Colonna
(in 1672) and
Orsini (in 1671), respectively. Thus with Angelo's adoption into the Altieri family, the Albertoni
Lloyd
Baciccio 'sBeataLuaovicaAlbertoni
13
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name became extinct.
10.
Ludovica
Federica Di Napoli Rampolla, "Chronologia
Albertoni a San Francesco
della ristrutturazioni della Cappella
a Ripa," in Claudio
dellabeata
Strinati and Maria Grazia Bernardini, eds., Ber
nini, Regista del barocco: I restauri (Milan: Skira, 1999), 85-95; and Michela Ulivi, "La Cappella
Ludovica
Albertoni nella chiesa di S. Francesco
a Ripa," in Claudio
della beata
Strinati and Maria Grazia Bernardini,
eds., Bernini, Regista del barocco: I restauri (Milan: Skira, 1999), 97-110.
li.
On the chapel, see Anselmi, "Sebastiani
Cipriani"
(note 5). The chapel, second to the left, is
dedicated to Saint Joseph and the Beata Ludovica.
12.
Carlo Giuseppe
Ratti, Delle vite de'pittori, scultori, ed architettigenovesi (Genoa:
Casamara,
1769), 81; and Lione Pascoli, Vite de'pittori, scultori, ed architetti moderni (Rome: Antonio de' Rossi, 1730),
13- Archivio di Stato di Roma, Fondo Notai Auditor Camerae
507]".: "Uno [quadro]
quadro
basso.)"
grande della Beata Ludovica
grande della Beata Ludovica
con cornice d'oro d'intorno.
(Robba,
On 15 February 1674 the family received a special dispensation
the beata in the family chapels in Palazzo
Laurentius
Bellus 871, S02r and
con cornice grande e negra" (in the main gallery); "Un
che sta nella guadarobba
Altieri. Schiavo, Palazzo Altieri (note 7), 175. Baldassare
Angelo's grandfather and the individual responsible
a Ripa in 1622, also had paintings of Ludovica
da
from Clement X to erect images of
for the redecoration
Albertoni,
of the chapel in San Francesco
in his collection that may well have come down to Angelo. A
copy of his will and an inventory of his belongings, dated 29 August 1652, was placed in the Archivio Capi
tolino by his son Antonio to ensure that primogeniture was established
and that Baldassare's
goods stayed
in the family. The paintings appear in the inventory as "Un altro quadro della Beata lodovica
con cornice negra" and "Una S. Ludovica
the latter painting. It is interesting to note that Ludovica
simple slip or the Albertoni family possessed
never take place. Archivio Capitolino,
14-
is identified as "santa"; the scribe either made a
a painting that visually anticipated a canonization
Rome, Fidecommessi,
that would
32,4oir, and 422V.
Paluzzi-Albertoni,
Shelley Karen Perlove, Bernini and the Idealization of Death: The Blessed Ludovica Albertoni and
heAltieri Chapel (University Park: Pennsylvania
State Univ. Press, 1990), 11-12.
Bellori is also a key figure in Altieri family commissions,
IS-
Albertoni
figura sana 15"—15 scudi was apparently the estimated value of
the redecoration
of Palazzo
as he was intimately involved with
Altieri and provided the program for Carlo Maratta's
Triumph of Clemency in
the main salone. On Bellori, and for further bibliography, see Giovan Pietro Bellori, The Lives
of the Modem
Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, trans. Alice Sedgwick Wohl (Cambridge:
Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005),
11-13,407-9
16.
From these records we know that the bread was interpreted as an expression
of the beata's
"love, and prodigious
charity toward the poor," while the book was interpreted as a reference to her "very
lofty contemplation"
(altissima contemplatione), her profound meditation
on God's laws. Giovanni Paolo
di Roma, Vita della B. Lud.ou.ica Albertoni Piermattei Paluzzi del Terzo Ordine di S. Francesco
composta da vn
religioso riformato di S. Francesco a Ripa,...
Dedicata all'eminentiss. e reuerendiss. prencipe Palutio cardinal
Altieri camerlengo di S. Chiesa (Rome: Per Giuseppe
Coruo, 1672), 264-65.
17- Archivio Altieri, Giustificationi del Sig. Principe D. Angelo Altieripp mandati 1670-1671
b): "II Comp.a
[Computista]
un quadro della B. Ludovica
Napoli Rampolla,
faccia il mand.o di s. centocinque
fatto p nro serv.o qsto di 22 feb.ro 1671 s. 105 m.ta A. Altieri." Published
"Chronologia"
in Di
(note 10), 97.
In his essay on Baciccio's
dell'Arco connects
(n. 593
m.ta a Gio. Batta Gauli Pittore p regalo di
altarpieces
for the 1999 II Baciccio
this payment receipt with Baciccio's
altarpiece
catalog,
for San Francesco
Maurizio
Fagiolo
a Ripa, despite the
fact that there is a second receipt dating from 1675 and made out to Baciccio, also for 105 scudi, for what
is clearly the current altarpiece.
Doc. 12, ric. 57: "II Comp.a
faccia il mand.o di s. Cento cinque m.ta k Gio
Batta Gauli Pittore p regalo del quadro di S. Anna fatto a S. Franc.o q.sto di 24 lug. 1675 s. 105 m.ta
[firmato]
14
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JOURNAL, NO. 2 (2010)
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is ordered to make the payment ot 150 scudi to Giovanni
Altieri" (The bookkeeper
painter, in recognition of the painting of S. Anne made for [the church of] S. Francesco,
in Di Napoli
scudi. [signed] A. Altieri). Published
payment dates to 1675, reinforcing the accepted
A beatification
chronology.
of 1670, thus Baciccio
Albertoni: L'arte e la vita," in Marcello
Howard Hibbard, "Ludovica
could
that the process would swiftly reach a successful
Sernini e le arti visive (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia
Fagiolo, ed., Gian Lorenzo
Italiana, 1987), 150.
by rain en route to Los Angeles m 1970, and afterward it
The painting was badly damaged
19-
in November
process was opened tor Ludovica
lave begun the painting by that date, in anticipation
inclusion.
24 July 1675.105
(note 10), 108. As a result,
"Chronologia"
of the current chapel altarpiece to 1671, when in fact the correct
Fagiolo dell'Arco dates the commission
i8.
Rampolla,
Battista Baciccio,
was transferred to a new support. The weave of the new canvas backing was visible in the paint itself, and
is impossible
edges—it
to determine if the painting has been cut down or altered.
That is, between 1671, when the Spanish Dominican
20.
particular without the
significant inpainting. Without the original canvas—in
the painting underwent
in his Roman guidebook.
svhen Titi referenced the altarpiece
was canonized
by Clement X, and 1674,
Filippo Titi, Stvdio dipittvra, scoltvra, et
irchitettvra, nelle chiese di Roma■Nel quale si ha notitia di tuttigl'Artefici,che hanno iui operato (Rome: Mancini,
1674), 155. For an illustration of the work, see Enggass, Paintings ofBaticcio (note 1), fig. 21.
21.
Enggass, Paintings ofBaciccio (note 1), 17, i44_45
22.
Vittorio Casale
during the seicento and settecento
nizations
and "tribute paintings"
or medallions,
als, dimensions,
and composition,
For Casale,
categories.
tor canonizations
has classified the types of paintings produced
into three types: standards
(dipinti-omaggio).
or banners, narrative canvases
For various reasons relating to quality, materi
depiction of Ludovica Albertoni can be excluded from these
Baciccio's
see, most recently, Vittorio Casale,
Giovanni Morello, Ambrogio M. Piazzoni,
and solem
"Santi, Beati e Servi di Dio in immagini," in
and Paolo Vian, eds., Diventare Santo: Itinerari e riconoscimenti
della santitci tra libri, documenti e immagini (Vatican
City: Biblioteca
Apostolica
Vaticana/Events,
1998),
73-76.
Ap. doc. n. 6:
23.
Filza di Giustmcatiom
per l'Ecc.mo
et Ecc.mo
Sig. Prencipe D. Angelo Aitieri con gli eredi del S.
(n. 702b).
Doc. 1, ric. 103: "Conto
Baldassar
Castelli. A di 30 d. [gennaro 1671] p haver indorato una cornice grande assai p il quadro da Altare
della B. Ludovica
dell'Ill.mo
Sig.re Pnpe D Angelo Aitieri 1673-1675
tutta imbrunita col fondo gessato. s. 25." Published
in Di Napoli Rampolla, "Chronolo
gia" (note 10), 104. Angelo immediately had to pay another two scudi to have the frame repaired, as it was
damaged by rain on the way to San Francesco
a Ripa. It seems that the painting has always been prone to
bad luck with the weather.
At the same time Angelo paid for fiftycoats of arms with the Altieri stemma, which were
24.
intended to decorate the church, and to have iron grating in the chapel painted silver. This further sup
ports the hypothesis that Baciccio's
painting was for the family chapel, as all of these payments were made
together. Di Napoli Rampolla, "Chronologia"
(note 10), 104 (App. doc. n. 6., Doc. 1, ric. 103). In March 1671,
Angelo paid a debt he owed to a printer, Matteo Gregorio Rossi, for, among other things, four hundred
images of the Beata Ludovica
specifically for Ludovica's
25.
on paper. It is recorded in the payment itself that these prints were made
feast day. Di Napoli Rampolla, "Chronologia"
Technically, an altar cannot be dedicated
in the Altieri chapels in San Francesco
(note 10), 101 (ric. 4).
to a beata or a beato, hence the double dedications
a Ripa and Santa Maria in Campitelli. However, for the feast day of a
prominent holy figure the church is transformed in their honor—the
to this day place a large image of Ludovica
Franciscans
at San Francesco
a Ripa
Albertoni over the high altar of the church for the duration of
the celebration.
26.
Cesare Solatio, Compendio della vita della Beata Lodovica Albertoni della cetera veaova Romana
Dedicato
religiosa del terz'ordine di San Francesco: Con I'aggiunta d'alcun epigrammi di Cesare Solatij Romano:
Lloyd
Baciccio
s Beata Luaovica Albertoni
15
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aU'illustrissimo, & eccellentissimo Sig. Principe Don Gasparo Altieri nipote di nostro signore egenerate di Santa
Chiesa, &c. (Rome: Nella Stamperia del Mancini, 1671), n.p.
The viewing point for the current altarpiece, Baciccio's
27.
lower, with a more pronounced
Holy Family with Saint Anne, is slightly
tilt to look up at the figures—this is an adjustment made to accommodate
the fact that the painting is further away from the viewer and above Bernini's
sculpture. The point of view
for Baciccio's
Ludovica Albertoni is not dissimilar to that of the
sixteenth-century frescoed representation
of the beata to the right of the altar in the San Francesco
a Ripa chapel. My thanks to Anna Seidel for con
templating viewing points and their significance with me.
28.
There are two surviving seventeenth-century
biographies
of Ludovica
Albertoni: Paulo, Vita
della B. Ludouica Albertoni (note 16); and Solatio, Compendio (note
26). Ludwig von Pastor refers to a third
in manuscript form in the Vatican library written
by a Fra Gennaro, but this has yet to come to light. See
Christopher M.S. Johns, "Some Observations
Francesco
a Ripa: Bernini and Baciccio,"
on Collaboration
and Patronage in the Altieri Chapel, San
Storia dell'arte 50/52 (1984): 44.
29.
Perlove, Bernini (note 14), 10.
30.
They are dressed identically, in the black dress and white veil that was characteristic of Fran
cesca Romana's
oblates, both hold a book (although, as here, Francesca
the standard inscription—see
note 3—while
companion
and the poor youth, Francesca
figure—Ludovica
Elfriede Louise Heideman,
Academische
is closed),
Romana's
is usually open to show
and are accompanied
by their small
and the angel. On the chapel, see Johanna
The Cinquecento Chapel Decorations in S. Maria in Aracoeli in Rome
(Amsterdam:
Pers, 1982).
At the time of Ludovica's
31.
Delia Cetera, and was dedicated
by Baldassare
death in 1533, the chapel belonged
to the Holy Cross. Apparently a proposal
Peruzzi immediately following Ludovica's
paign was undertaken
appearance
project begun by Baldassare
reconstruction
and redecoration
painting went to Palazzo
Albertoni. Baldassare
Albertoni and is now lost)—and
Romana and the Beata Ludovica.
Saint Clare and Ludovica,
cam
but there is little surviving
century. In the early 1620s,
changed to Saint Anne, and a
commissioned
project that involved placing Ludovica's
Giacomo
sarcophagus
Mola to lead a
above ground in
Virgin and Child and Saint Anne (the
adding frescoes in the dome and pendentives
Dy Cristoforo Grippi that depict, respectively, music-making
fied at Ludovica's
was made
before the early seventeenth
the center of the space, installing an altarpiece
by Gaspare Celio—The
\gnes, and Francesca
family, the
death, but never carried out. A decorative
of the chapel was transferred to the Albertoni, the dedication
redecoration
to her husband's
for a reconstruction
in 1571 by Tibero della Cetera with Rocco d'Orlando,
information regarding the chapel's
ownership
Ludovica's
angels and four holy women: Saints Cecilia,
The two frescoes now flanking the altar, depicting
are generally dated to the sixteenth century, as both Bellori and Baciccio
testi
beatification hearings; it has been suggested that they were
originally located elsewhere
n the chapel or church and were relocated
or retained during the renovation
listory is unknown. The surviving documentation
in 1622, but their precise
paints a slightly muddled picture of the chapel's
project, led by Mola, has been dated to 1622 and 1624, while ownership
:ory—Baldassare's
vas not officially transferred to the Albertoni until October 1625. On the
chronology and development
he chapel, see Di Napoli Rampolla, "Chronologia"
(note 10); and Ulivi, "La Cappella
his
of the chapel
of
della beata Ludovica
Ubertoni" (note 10).
32.
The subject of this fresco has not previously been identified; Marco
Pupillo describes
image of Ludovica
the
Albertoni only as a saint offering bread to a pilgrim. That she is not a saint is
quite clear
from the fact that she is shown with her head encircled
by rays, rather than a halo. Marco Pupillo, S. Bar
tolomeo all'Isola Tiberina: Mille anni distoria e di arte (Milan: Edizioni
Angelo Guerini, 2003), 39.
33-
Mauro Tagliabue,
"Francesca
Romana nella Storiografia: Fonti, Studi, Biografie," in
Giorgio
Picasso, ed., Una Santa Tutta Romana: Saggi e ricerche nel VI centenario della nascita di Francesca Bussa dei
°onziani (1384-1984)
(Siena: Monte Oliveto Maggiore, 1984), 199.
i6
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Compendio (note 26), n.p.: "E quello
Solatio,
34-
Santa Francesca
avanti che si canonizasse
che
che ancora £ degno di considerazione
amendue
Romana, dipignevansi
e Beate del Cielo insieme, l'una allato dell'altra, e con pari venerazione
queste gloriosissime
Matrone,
erano dal popolo di Roma riverite,
& adorate."
Rocca, La sostanza dell'effimero: Gli abiti degli Ordini religiosi in Occidente (Rome:
Giancarlo
35Edizioni
Paoline, 2000),
440-41.
by Mary in a vision; the
The design of the habit was given to Francesca
are the very long white veil and the lack of a wimple or scapular, leaving the forehead and
characteristics
neck uncovered.
Although the habit of the Franciscan
the habit was gen
tertiaries was less standardized,
Franciscan
by a scapular or hood, and cinched at the waist with the
erally dark grey in color, accompanied
knotted cord (pp. 337-38).
Valentino Martinelli, "I Disegni di Bernini," in idem, Gian Lorenzo Bernini e la sua cerchia: Studi
36.
e contributi (1950-1990)
(Naples:
Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1994), 40-41; originally published in Com
mentari 3 (1950): 172-86.
Fima Antiquari
per un catalogo,"
ritrattista: proposta
Petrucci, "Baciccio
Francesco
37-
Viva 10 (1997): 52-54.
Beatrice Canestro
38.
mentari 20 (1969):
"Ancora del Bernini, del Gaulli e della Regina Cristina," Com
Chiovenda,
231. The sentiment was voiced perhaps
wrote that "le Bachiche
neuves et piquante"
most vociferously
by P. J. Mariette when he
etoit la main dont le Bernin se servoit pour exprimer en peinture ses pensees
(Baciccio
was the hand that Bernini used to express in painting his new and titillating
Mariette's comment appears in his ten-volume commentary on Pellegrino Antonio Orlando's
thoughts).
Abecedario Pittorico (1704), written between 1717 and 1728, but not published until the nineteenth century.
Pierre-Jean Mariette, Abecedario deP.J. Mariette et autres notes inedites decet amateur sur les arts et les artistes,
ed. Philippe de Chennevieres
and Anatole de Montaiglon, vol. 1 (Paris: Dumoulin,
1853), 48.
states: "Hanno
Enggass, Paintings ofBaciccio (note l), 52. An awiso dated 20 April 1675
39-
Giesuiti scoperto la cuppola
della loro [chiesa]
nini, e fattura d'une tale Baccici Fiorentino
li P.P.
del Giesu dipinta da nuovo con disegno del Cavalier Ber
e da molti virtuosi non viene troppo lodata l'lnventione
del
the dome of their church of the
primo, come anche il lavoro del secondo"
(The Jesuits have uncovered
Gesu, newly painted by a certain Baciccio,
Florentine, to a design by the Cavalier
Bernini, and by many
Bibliotheca
experts the invention of the latter is not very praised, nor is the work of the former).
Apo
stolica Vaticana, Barb. lat. 6413,109r. As is often the case with awisi, a factual error, in this case the identi
fication of Baciccio
as a Florentine, is coupled with a useful insight into contemporary
40.
Johns, "Some Observations"
(note 28), 43-47.
41.
Johns, "Some Observations"
(note 28), 45.
42.
Anna Goliva, Bernini Scultore: La Tecnica Esecutiva (Rome:
43•
Baciccio
events.
De Luca Editori d'Arte, 2002),
266-67.
s source, in turn, is quite clear—the
sixteentn-century
now found to the right of the altar. As noted earlier, the Genoese
sance source into a baroque
44Iconography
idiom.
On the issue ot whether Ludovica
is shown in ecstasy or dying, see Frame sommer,
of Action: Bernini's Ludovica Albertoni," Art Quarterly$6
(note 18); Perlove, Bernini (note 14); and Giovanni
Albertoni"
sculturanel "bel composto"diBernini
45-
Glaudio
Hibbard, "Ludovica
(Rome: Laterza, 1991), 73-121.
Strinati, "La grande ombra," in Maunzio
Bernini was doing social penance
Fagiolo dell Arco, Dieter Grar, and t ran
(Milan: Skira, 1999), 45.
at the time following a particularly unsavory incident at
Saint Peter's involving his brother. He officially executed
back the pope's
(1970): 30-38;
~ i ne
Careri, Voli d'amore: Architettura, pittura e
cesco Petrucci, eds., Giovan Battista Gaulli, II Baciccio (1639-1709)
46.
tresco in tne cnapei itseii,
artist translated quite literally the Renais
the statue of Ludovica
for free in order to win
good favor toward his family. In fact, Angelo Altieri paid Baciccio
Lloyd
BdicicciosBeataLuaovicaALoertoni
slightly more for the
i/
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painting, 105 scudi, than he paid for Bernini's
statue of the beata, since the only direct cost of the lat
ter was 96 scudi for the marble. Coliva, Bernini scultore (note 42), 266 (app. doc. 1). The payment of 105
scudi is commensurate
with what Baciccio
was making for other similarly sized altarpieces
around the
same time: as we have already seen he was paid the same amount four years later for his altarpiece for the
Altieri chapel, in 1669 he was paid 100 scudi for Rest on the Flight into Egypt (Rome, Galleria
d'Arte Antica, Palazzo
Nazionale
Barberini), and in 1676 he was paid 100 scudi for his altarpiece for Sant'Andrea
al
Quirinale, The Death ofSt. Francis Xavier. Fagiolo dell'Arco, Graf, and Petrucci, Giovan Battista Gaulli (note
1), 156; and Enggass, Paintings of Baciccio (note 1), 179. On painter's earnings in seicento Rome, see Richard
Spear, "Scrambling for Scudi: Notes and Painters' Earnings in Early Baroque Rome," Art Bulletin 85 (2003):
310-20.
Spear notes that artists generally paid between 5 and 10 scudi per painting for canvases
and other
basic materials like pigments and stretchers. Perhaps this explains some of the slightly odd amounts we
encounter in documents,
such as the 105 scudi paid to Baciccio for the Ludovica picture—100
scudi for the
picture proper and 5 scudi to cover necessary materials.
18
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