Pope Benedict XIV

The scholarly, witty, and beloved Pope Benedict XIV (born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini; r. 1740–58), a great patron of the arts, is shown here in his mid-sixties. The best comparisons in medals are from early in his reign, before he became jowly and his nose began to protrude more noticeably.[1] This miniature bust unites two key traits. The first is a vibrant, painterly surface associated more with the late Baroque than the budding Neoclassicism prevalent in Benedict’s pontificate. It lends considerable excitement to the vestments. The second is its lightweight casting, un-reworked from the wax and hardy in facture.[2] Largish sprues were left intact in back but sawn off around the edges; they would have been unseen if the bust occupied a niche. A sensible scenario may be that a sculptor of merit simply wanted to preserve his dashing composition in the form of an inexpensive “relict” cast.

Portraits of Benedict are generally of high quality, notably the marble busts of Pietro Bracci and the paintings of Pierre Subleyras, by whom The Met acquired a ravishing bust-length study in oil that captures both the pope’s integrity and his bonhomie (fig. 155a), characteristics evidently prized by our master as well.
-JDD

Footnotes
(For key to shortened references see bibliography in Allen, Italian Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022.)


1. Papal Medals 1977, no. 451 (1740).
2. The alloy is well cast in brass made from relatively clean, fire-refined copper. The inexpensive alloy and lack of surface finish could suggest a date as late as the nineteenth or even the early twentieth century. R. Stone/TR, November 5, 2010.