Tomb of Lukas Holstenius
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Authors
Antonio Giorgetti; Giovanni Artusi; Carlo Spagna; Giovanni Mattia Sangle
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Funerary monument , Tomb , Lukas Holstenius , Pope Innocent X , Coat of Arms , Pope Urban VIII
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Abstract
On the counter-façade of Santa Maria dell’Anima in Rome stands the funerary monument of Lukas Holstenius (1596–1661), a German geographer and historian who died in Rome and was laid to rest in the church. Holstenius served as head of the Vatican Library, and worked under both Pope Urban VIII (reigned 1623-1644) and Pope Innocent X (reigned 1644-1655). His friend and heir, Cardinal Francesco Barberini, commissioned the monument in his honour. The tomb, carved in black, yellow and white marble, was designed by Antonio Giorgetti (1635–1669) in 1663.
At the base, two winged skulls support a draped cloth upon which the epitaph is inscribed, which celebrates Holstenius’ merits. Above is a medallion with allegorical representations of the sciences. The sarcophagus, resting on two sculpted lion’s feet, bears Holstenius’s coat of arms. Crowning the monument, a pair of putti hold a carved portrait medallion of the deceased.
The two medallions were originally cast in bronze and partially gilded. Specifically, these were cast by Giovanni Artusi, carved by Carlo Spagna, and gilded by Giovanni Mattia Sangle. However, the medallions, along with the two putti supporting the portrait medallion, were removed in 1832 and replaced with plaster copies painted to resemble bronze (some sources state that the copies were made of wood, but plaster is more likely). The medallion of the allegorical representations of science is now in the collection of the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples. There is also a seventeenth-century bronze copy, attributed to Giorgetti, at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Art historian Jennifer Montagu says the medallions demonstrate the influence of the Baroque sculptor Alessandro Algardi (1598–1654).
Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
Description
Santa Maria dell’Anima, Rome
Citation
Susanne Kubersky-Piredda, Tobias Daniels, and Stephan Köllinker, Santa Maria Dell’Anima, trans. Gabriella Dondolini (Weiler-Simmerberg: Holzer Druck und Medien, 2020), 31; “An Allegory of the life of Lucas Holstenius,”V&A Collections, record created June 24, 2009, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O312669/an-allegory-of-the-life-relief-giorgetti-antonio/; Maria Cristina Basili, “Giorgetti, Antonio,” Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani 55 (2001); Gisbert Knopp and Wilfried Hansmann, S. Maria dell’Anima : d. dt. Nationalkirche in Rom (Mönchengladbach: Kühlen, 1979), 61.