Steven F. Ostrow

Playing with the Paragone: The Reliefs of Pietro Bernini: For Rudolf Preimesberger

The writer discusses Pietro Berninis engagement with the paragone, or the comparison of painting and sculpture, via an examination of the artists relief sculpture. Paragone was one of the most widely discussed subjects in 16th-century theoretical literature. The writer contends that, notwithstanding the lack of theoretical pronouncements from him, Pietro was deeply informed by art theory. He goes on to examine the concept of paragone with respect to a range of Berninis reliefs. Arguing that throughout his career, Pietros works show an inventive and novel approach to the problems of relief sculpture and serve as eloquent testimony to his highly original theoretical reflection, he demonstrates how the paragone, as it concerned relief sculpture, was for the artist at once an inspiration, a challenge, and a conceptual factor in the creation of his reliefs.

The Altars and Altarpieces of New St. Peter's: Outfitting the Basilica, 1621-1666 by Louise Rice (review)

St. Peters is, without doubt, among the most intensively studied buildings in the world, the subject of countless articles and books in numerous languages. For all that has been written about its construction and decoration, however, many aspects of its history have gone largely unexplored.Who, for example, beyond the popes,was responsible for decisions concerning the construction and outfitting of the new basilica? How did the altar dedications and relics of the Constantinian basilica survive in the arrangement and tiding of the altars in New St. Peters? To what extent do the altarpieces in the new basilica embody a unified iconographie program? And how did liturgical and aesthetic conerns impact the decoration of the new basilica?

Gianlorenzo Bernini, Girolamo Lucenti, and the Statue of Philip IV in S. Maria Maggiore: Patronage and Politics in Seicento Rome

This paper presents previously unpublished documents that shed new light on the statue of Philip IV in S. Maria Maggiore. These documents establish the process by which the chapter of the basilica commissioned and financed the statue, and oversaw its completion; they also allow a radical redating of the work, with respect to both its conception and execution, and they clarify the roles played by Gianlorenzo Bernini and Girolamo Lucenti in its invention and realization. The article interprets the statues iconography and carefully formulated propagandistic message, and concludes with a reconstruction of the statues history from the time of its completion to its final installation. Viewed within the broader framework of European politics, the statue of Philip IV emerges as both a product and a victim of the rivalry between Spain and France and their efforts to assert power in the papal capital.