Algardi marble bust of Antonio Cerri

A marble bust by a contemporary of Bernini whose work is characterised by his astonishing ability to recreate the physical presence of his sitters. He is particularly skilled in his sensitive and meticulous approach to detail. Monsignor Antonio Cerri was Pope Urban VIII’s lawyer and is seen in his prelate’s gown. He died in 1642 and on his tomb in the Gesu church in Rome, there is a copy of this bust. This suggests he may have commissioned it from Algardi in the last years of his life.