Bust of Pope Benedict XIII
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Authors
Giuseppe Mazzuoli; Bartolommeo Mazzuoli
Date
Type
Image
Language
Keyword
Pope Bust , Papal Portrait , Portrait , Pope Benedict XIII , Model , Caricature
Alternative Title
Abstract
This terracotta bust (1724–1725) of Pope Benedict XIII (1724–1730), displayed at the Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia in Rome, is the preparatory model for a marble version sculpted by Mazzuoli. The marble bust was originally placed in an oval niche in the sacristy of Santa Maria Maggiore after the roof was restored by Filippo Raguzzini (1680–1771). The marble bust was later relocated to the right flank of the baptistry, where it remains today.
The bust has a caricature-like style, with a hooked nose, thin lips on a wrinkled chin, and raised eyebrows that give the Pope’s wide-open eyes a dynamic expression. This design does not idealize the Pope but instead emphasizes his human side. The bust’s polychromy adds to its effect, with a red mozzetta and camauro, a white collar, and warm skin tones for the face. Adding to the pontiff’s expression are sculptural details incised into the clay—the fine wrinkles above the raised brows, the thick wrinkles around the nose, the baguette incisions on the collar, and the thick modelling of the drapery on the sleeves of the mozzetta.
On his stole, symbols of papal authority are depicted, including keys and a tiara, along with a star representing the Orsini family and a dog symbolizing the Order of Saint Dominic.
The marble version was placed above eye level, so the rotation of the bust’s torso and the angle of the head suggest the Pope made eye contact with viewers below, creating a sense of engagement without emphasizing his authority.
For the 2008 Getty Villa exhibit, The Color of Life, scientific tests were performed on the bust. Radiography revealed that it was hollowed up to the mouth, with a hole (not pictured) created at the crown to release gases during casting. Despite this, cracks have developed at the rear. The polychromy is vibrant, though there are some losses at the seams of the garments. Micro-Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed that the red mozzetta and camauro were painted with cinnabar, while the white collar contains zinc white, a pigment introduced in the late eighteenth century. This suggests the polychromy was applied to the sculpture after 1725. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
Description
National Museum of the Palazzo di Venezia; Jandolo Collection
Citation
Museo nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia : sculture in terracotta (Roma: Gangemi, 2011), 92-93; Roberta Panzanelli, Eike D. Schmidt, and Kenneth D. S. Lapatin, The Color of Life : Polychromy in Sculpture from Antiquity to the Present (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008), 104-107.