Alessandro AlgardiItalian, 1595–1654Minerva als Rome
May one see it?
Unknown
Amsterdam, Netherlands
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- Source
- The museum
About the work
The sculptor Algardi mainly drew in preparation for his (portrait) sculptures and reliefs. In the case of this drawing, however, no sculpture is known. It is therefore quite possible that this sheet served as a design for a print. The goddess Minerva, recognizable by her helmet,
personifies Rome here. Depicted at her feet are the city’s founders Romulus and Remus being suckled by a wolf.
Rijksmuseum
Particulars
- Accession number
- RP-T-1946-72(R)
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Rijksmuseum
- Image: Rijksmuseum — public domain
Meanwhile, in the life of Alessandro Algardi
The whole life1625–1654 · Workplace
Rome
1644
Innocent X draws him to the papal court
With the death of the Barberini pope Urban VIII and the accession of the Pamphilj pope Innocent X, the Barberini fall into disfavor and Bernini receives fewer commissions; Algardi, by contrast, is embraced by the new pope and the pope's nephew Camillo Pamphilj. His portraits are highly prized, their formal severity contrasting with Bernini's vivacity, and his large bronze of Innocent X is now in the Capitoline Museums.
1650
Meets Velázquez; commissions from Spain
He meets Diego Velázquez, who obtains commissions for his work from Spain: four chimney-pieces and the figures of the fountain of Neptune in the gardens of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, and the tomb of the Count and Countess de Monterey in the Augustinian monastery at Salamanca.
in later years
A large studio, a fortune and pupils
In his later years he controls a large studio and amasses a great fortune. His classicizing manner is carried on by pupils such as Ercole Ferrata and Domenico Guidi, and Antonio Raggi initially trained with him (other accounts say all three then moved to Bernini); lesser-known assistants in his studio include Francesco Barrata, Girolamo Lucenti and Giuseppe Peroni.
