Attributed to Alessandro Algardi (Bologna 1598 – Rome 1654) Italian, Rome, mid 17th century

Standard wear and surface abrasions. Minor casting flaws. Otherwise, good condition.
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This small bronze bust derives from the full size marble figure of St. Nicolas of Tolentino (Rome, church of San Nicola da Tolentino) designed and carved by the Roman baroque sculptor Alessandro Algardi towards the end of his life and completed by Ercole Ferrata, Algardi’s primary assistant. Only a small group of works by Algardi are known that are related to this important commission.

The terracotta model for the figure of St. Nicolas is preserved in the Palazzo Venezia, Rome and a bronze was cast from it (formerly in the collection of Sir Brinsley Ford, 1999 exhibition, op. cit., cat. no. 41). A documented terracotta head of the Saint, listed as by Algardi, was in the collection of Ercole Ferrata (Montagu, op. cit., p. 368, 66.L.B.2) and it was most likely the model for the present bronze bust, which is the only known example of its type.

The chasing, the treatment of the drapery and the patina on the present bronze are indicative of several bronzes by Algardi, including the Pieta in the Frick Collection, New York and the splendid Baptism of Christ in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

RELATED LITERATURE
J. Montagu, Alessandro Algardi, New Haven and London, 1985, vol. II, pp. 367–368
Algardi: L'altra faccia del barocco, exhibition catalogue, Palazzo delle esposizioni, Rome 21 January - 30 April 1999, Rome, 1999, cat. no. 41