A terracotta model by Bernini on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has received an important sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Naples, 1598 - Rome, 1680) on permanent loan from a private collector. It is the only sculpture by the Baroque sculptor to be found in the Netherlands: it is the terracotta model for the triton standing on a shell, commissioned by Pope Innocent X for the Fountain of the Moor, which adorns the Fountain of the Moor in Piazza Navona. The sculpture, 72 centimeters tall, had previously been on display at the Rijksmuseum in 2020 as part of the Caravaggio-Bernini exhibition.

“This is a truly historic addition to the collection!” exclaims Taco Dibbits, director of the Rijksmuseum. “It is wonderful that, thanks to a private collector, we can now exhibit a Bernini sculpture permanently in the Netherlands for the first time. Bernini had an enormous influence on the development of sculpture as an art form in this country, as well as elsewhere. Many Dutch sculptors traveled to Rome in the 17th century, studied Bernini’s work, and were influenced by it. Among them was Artus Quellinus, who later made marble sculptures for the Amsterdam City Hall, now the Royal Palace on Dam Square.”

Bernini made the model of the Triton for the southern fountain in Piazza Navona in 1653. The final version of this imposing central figure was made in marble by one of Bernini’s assistants, Giovanni Antonio Mari. This work soon became known among the citizens of Rome as “the Moor,” because they perceived the figure’s facial features as African. It is for this reason that the fountain is now known as the “Fountain of the Moor.” The sculpture owes its great dynamism to the rotation of the body and its forward movement: an imaginary breeze moves the hair and beard and propels the sea creature, which glides on the shell, toward the larger Fountain of the Four Rivers, Bernini’s masterpiece, in the center of the square. Water gushing from the dolphin’s mouth between the figure’s legs reinforces this sense of dynamism.

The terracotta figure now on display at the Rijksmuseum has remained unnoticed for a long time. Partly because for centuries the object remained the private property of a single Italian family, the descendants of Cardinal Flavio Chigi, who, as a representative of the pope, had had personal contact with Bernini. Moreover, for a long time it was hidden under a thick layer of dark paint that masked its quality. Restoration work carried out in 2018 involved removing this varnish, bringing Bernini’s distinctive feature and virtuoso style to light.

A second version of the terracotta model displayed at the Rijksmuseum is kept at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Bernini probably made this more elaborate and detailed figure after completing the fountain, as a gift for the pope who commissioned it. The model now on display at the Rijksmuseum, in contrast, is a study model that served as a reference for the final work. In all likelihood this work is the “model made by me” mentioned in a payment Bernini requested for the fountain in 1655.

A terracotta model by Bernini on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

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