The artwork

The terracotta medallion depicts Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the final years of his life. Coming from the heirs of the Altemps family, the work is of particular interest as it appears to be the original model for one of the most famous celebratory images of the artist, created by the French sculptor and medallist Charles-Jean-François Chéron.

The portrait can be dated to around 1673, as suggested by the inscription running along the edge of the medallion: “EQVES IOANN LAVRENT BERNINVS ETATIS SVE AN LXXV”. Here, Bernini is identified with the title of knight and his age is indicated as seventy-five. Born in December 1598, the artist indeed reached that age at the end of 1673. Chéron’s medal, executed shortly thereafter, bears instead the indication of seventy-six years and the date 1674. A comparison between the two artifacts thus suggests that the terracotta was made previously, serving as Chéron's model for the effigy intended for the medal.

Of particular significance is the presence on the medallion's edge of the initials “G G”, interpreted by Prof. Andrea Bacchi as the signature of Giuseppe Giorgetti, a sculptor active in Rome and closely linked to Bernini’s circle. Giorgetti belonged to the generation of artists who contributed to the dissemination and development of Bernini’s artistic language in late 17th-century Rome. Their relationship was not purely stylistic: Giorgetti participated in major projects associated with Bernini, including the execution of the Angels for Ponte Sant’Angelo.

The creation of the portrait also falls within a particularly significant phase for the construction of Bernini’s public image and memory. During those same years, a complex project to celebrate his figure and artistic legacy was initiated within his family. His son Pier Filippo was planning a biography of his father, accompanied by reproductions of his numerous works. This initiative was later followed by the famous biographies by Filippo Baldinucci and Domenico Bernini. The medallion can therefore be contextualized within this broader framework of shaping and spreading the artist's memory.

It is impossible to establish with certainty the original destination of the terracotta. It is plausible that it was conceived as a model for a subsequent bronze casting, but it cannot be ruled out that it was intended for autonomous display within the Bernini household. It has also been hypothesized that it might correspond to the “portrait of Sig.r Cav.r Bernino” (portrait of Knight Bernini) mentioned in the inventory of the artist’s estate compiled after his death in 1681.

Regardless of its original function, the medallion holds exceptional documentary and artistic value. It captures the image of Bernini not only as an undisputed protagonist of Baroque culture, but also in the more concrete, human dimension of his advanced age through a strikingly immediate physiognomic rendering. The work thus serves as both a portrait and an instrument of celebration, providing significant testimony to the process through which Bernini and his circle contributed to crafting his image and legacy for posterity while he was still alive.