La Beata Ludovica Albertoni

Dec 20, 2015 | 0 comments

The large 9’ x 14’ translucent nylon panel is a painted detail of the head of the Beata Ludovica Albertoni by Lorenzo Bernini. The piece is made to be hung in space and to integrate itself with its surroundings as they become a part of the semi transparent surface. Nylon is painted, beaded and appliquéd with lace to present a dramatic and powerful presence. It remains one of my favourite pieces.

The monument to the Beata (or Blessed) Ludovica Albertoni (1674) is in the specially designed Altieri Chapel in the church of San Francesco a Ripa in Trastevere, Rome. The sculpture and its setting in the Chapel were designed by the Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He was seventy one years old when he began the work, and it was one of his last sculptures.

The white marble figure represents the nun Ludovica Albertoni, a distant relative of the Cardinal, on her deathbed; she died in 1533. She is portrayed as experiencing both mortal suffering and religious ecstasy, surrounded by putti, and waiting to rise to the Holy Spirit. A recessed side window to the left helps to illuminate the sculptural subject.

La Beata Ludovica Albertoni

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