GIAN LORENZO BERNINI
1598-16805 A Marine God with a Dolphin
Black chalk; H: 34. 9 cm (13"/i6 in.); W: 23.8(93/8 in.)
87.06.142
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Recto) at bottom right
corner, collection mark of A. G. B. Russell (L. 27yoa);
(verso) inscribed Bernini in brown ink.
PROVENANCE: A. G. B. Russell, London (sale, Sothe-
by's, London, May 22, 1928, lot 39); marquis de Talley-
rand, Rome and Paris; sale, Christie's, Monaco, June 15,
1986, lot 73; art market, Boston.
EXHIBITIONS: Fourth Loan Exhibition, Magnasco Soci-
ety, Spink and Son, Ltd., London, 1927, no. 24.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: S. Fraschetti, // Bernini: La sua vita, la
sua opera, ilsuo tempo (Milan, 1900), p. 229; G. Canevazzi,
La scuola militare di Modena (1756-1914) (Modena, 1914),
vol. i, p. 17; H. Brauer andR. Wittkower, Die Zeichnun-
gen des Gianlorenzo Bernini (Berlin, 1931), vols. i, p. 53;
2, pi. 34; U. Donati, "Tre fontane berniniane," Lurbe 6,
no. 2 (February 1941), p. 12; idem, Artisti ticinesia Roma
(Bellinzona, 1942), pp. 443; 447, n. loa; A. Ghidiglia
Quintavalle, Artisti alia corte di Francesco Id'Este, exh. cat.
(Galleria Estense, Modena, 1963), p. 47, under no. 43; M.
and M. Fagiolo delTArco, Bernini: Una introduzione al
gran teatro del barocco (Rome, 1967), no. 140; E. Ricco-
mini, Ordine e Vaghezza: Scultura in Emilia nelVeta barocca
(Bologna, 1972), p. 56, under no. 18; A. S. Harris, Se-
lected Drawings of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (New York,
1977), no. 51; under no. 54; F. Borsi, Bernini (New York,
1980), p. 317, under no. 38;?. Ward-Jackson, Victoria and
Albert Museum Catalogues: Italian Drawings, Volume Two,
ijth-i8th Century (London, 1980), pp. 20-22, under no.
628 ; I. Lavin, Drawings by Gianlorenzo Bernini from the
Museum der Bildenen Kunste Leipzig, German Democratic
Republic, exh. cat. (Art Museum, Princeton, and other
institutions, 1981), p. 123, n. 7; R. Wittkower, Gian Lo-
renzo Bernini: The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque, 3rd ed.
(Ithaca, N.Y., 1981), p. 267, under no. 80(5); J. Roberts,
Master Drawings in the Royal Collection from Leonardo da
Vinci to the Present Day, exh. cat. (Queen's Gallery, Lon-
don, 1986), p. 116, under no. 86.
IN 1652-53 BERNINI SENT DRAWINGS TO DUKE FRAN-
cesco I d'Este to be made into fountains for his palace at
Sassuolo. The Museum's drawing was developed into a
terra-cotta modello (Modena, Galleria Estense) and then
into the stucco fountain in the central niche of the palace.
The modello was achieved by Ercole Antonio Raggi after
designs by Bernini, while the fountain itself seems to
have been made by local, less accomplished craftsmen.
The drawing is filled with vibrant movement—espe-
cially in the rendering of the dolphin—that is entirely
lacking in the final project. A further drawing, in pen and
ink and wash (London, Victoria and Albert Museum
inv. CAi.4i6), is more precise and finished. It is unclear
whether the latter is by Bernini himself or a workshop
modello based on the Getty chalk study.28 ITALIAN SCHOOL • BERNINI