AMSTERDAM.- The Rijksmuseum has received an outstanding sculpture by the Italian artist Bernini on permanent loan from a private collector. It is the only sculpture by this world-renowned Baroque sculptor in the Netherlands. The terracotta study model of Triton standing on a shell was commissioned by the then pope for the Fontana del Moro, which stands on Piazza Navona, one of Rome’s most important squares. The 72 centimetre tall sculpture was previously on view in the Rijksmuseum in 2020 as part of the Caravaggio–Bernini exhibition.


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"This is a truly historic addition to the collection! It is marvellous that, thanks to a private collector, we can now place a sculpture by Bernini on permanent display in the Netherlands for the first time. Bernini had a huge influence on the development of sculpture as an art form in this country, as elsewhere. Many Dutch sculptors travelled to Rome in the 17th century, studied Bernini’s work and were influenced by him. Among them were Artus Quellinus, who later made marble sculptures for Amsterdam’s City Hall, now the Royal Palace on Dam Square." --Taco Dibbits, Director of the Rijksmuseum

Most important sculptor

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) is regarded as the single most important Italian Baroque sculptor. He produced unrivalled works such as Apollo and Daphne (Galleria Borghese, Rome) and The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome). He also designed St Peter’s Square and the monumental St Peter's Baldachin in the Vatican, and made the celebrated Fontana dei quattro fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers), located at the heart of Piazza Navona in Rome. The pope subsequently also commissioned Bernini to embellish the two existing fountains on the same square.

Triton

Bernini made the model of the standing Triton, a mythical sea creature, for the southern fountain in in 1653. The final version of this impressive central figure was rendered in marble by Bernini’s assistant Giovanni Antonio Mari. This work soon came to be known among the citizens of Rome as il Moro (The Moor), because they perceived the figure’s facial characteristics as African. It is for this reason that the fountain is now known as the Fontana del Moro. The sculpture owes its great dynamism to the rotation of the body and its forward motion: an imaginary breeze rustles the hair and beard and propels the sea creature, gliding on the shell, towards of the larger Fontana dei quattro fiumi. Water gushing from the mouth of the dolphin between the figure’s legs reinforces this sense of dynamism.

Unnoticed

The terracotta figure now on view in the Rijksmuseum remained unnoticed for a long period. In part this was because for centuries the object remained the private property of a single Italian family, the descendants of Cardinal Flavio Chigi, who, as the pope’s representative, had personal contact with Bernini. Additionally, for a long time it was hidden beneath a thick layer of dark paint that masked its quality. Restoration work carried out in 2018 involved the removal of this overpainting, bringing to light Bernini’s signature characteristic and virtuosic style.

Second model

A second version of the terracotta model on view in the Rijksmuseum is held by the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth (Texas, US). Bernini probably made this more elaborately detailed figure after having completed the fountain, as a gift for the pope, who commissioned it. The model now on view at the Rijksmuseum, by contrast, is a study model that served as a reference for the final work. In all probability this work is the ‘modello fatto da me’ (‘model made by myself’) listed in Bernini’s invoice for the fountain in 1655.


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