Pope Clement IX (1667-1669) | Harvard Art Museums

Gallery Text

Born Girolamo Rospigliosi, Clement IX (1667–1669) was a committed patron of the arts during his short term as pope. He embellished the city of Rome through his engagement with the celebrated artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, with whom he had collaborated before ascending to the papacy. Bernini created stage designs for performances of operas and plays written by the young Rospigliosi. The architectural and urban planning projects that Bernini carried out for Clement during his time as pope include the colonnade in Saint Peter’s Square and the renovation of the Ponte Sant’Angelo, the terracotta models for which are in the collection of the Fogg Museum.

Although this portrait was probably not executed by Bernini, it may have been modeled after one of his drawings. The image bears a strong resemblance to a papal medal by Girolamo Lucenti, created in 1669 to commemorate Clement’s expansion of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which the pontiff also entrusted to Bernini.

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1955.74
People: Attributed to Girolamo Lucenti, Italian (Rome c. 1627 - 1698 Rome)
Previously attributed to an Italian Unidentified Artist
Previously attributed to Gioacchino Francesco Travani, Italian (active 1625 - 1675)
Title: Pope Clement IX (1667-1669)
Classification: Medals and Medallions
Work Type: medallion
Date: 1667-1698
Culture: Italian
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/228818

Location

Location: Level 2, Room 2400, European Art, 17th century, Rome and Its Influence in the Seventeenth Century

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Physical Descriptions

Medium

Gilt bronze in high relief

Dimensions

30.8 cm diam. x 2.3 cm depth (12 1/8 x 7/8 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

label: on back of medallion, printed and handwritten:: [printed in black ink:] MATHIAS KOMOR / WORKS OF ART / [handwritten in blue ink:] N458 / 17x / [printed in black ink:] NEW YORK

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History: [Mathias Komor, New York, NY], sold; to Fogg Art Museum, 1955

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Alpheus Hyatt Purchasing Fund
Accession Year: 1955
Object Number: 1955.74
Division: European and American Art
Contact: am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions: The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Description: In a fitted morocco case.

Publication History

Leonard Opdycke, "A Portrait Medallion of Clement IX", Fogg Art Museum Acquisitions, 1959-1962 (Cambridge MA, 1963), pp. 13-19, pp. 13-19, repr. p. 15
John Spike, Baroque Portraiture in Italy: Works from North American Collections, exh. cat., John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art (Sarasota, Florida, 1984), appendix, p. 206, repr. in b/w as fig. 17
Maurizio Fagiolo dell'Arco, Berniniana: Novità sul regista del Barocco, Skira (Milan, 2002), pp. 65-66 and repr. p. XXXVI as fig. 39
Steven F. Ostrow, "The Papal Medals of Santa Maria Maggiore, 1605-1741", Le arti a dialogo: Medaglie e medaglisti tra Quattro e Settecento, Edizioni della Normale (Pisa, 2014), pp. 181-198, p. 190 and repr. in color p. 187 as fig. 13

Exhibition History

In Memoriam: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 08/01/1980 - 10/15/1980
32Q: 2400 French/Italian/Spanish, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu

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1955.74: Pope Clement IX (1667-1669)