Memorial_to_Maria_Raggi

<i>Memorial to Maria Raggi</i>

Memorial to Maria Raggi

Artwork by Gianlorenzo Bernini

Memorial to Maria Raggi is a sculptural monument designed and executed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, started in 1647 and finished in 1653.[1] The monument is attached to a pillar in a nave of the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.[2]

Quick Facts Memorial to Maria Raggi, Artist ...

Maria Raggi

Maria Raggi (1552–1600) was a nun from the island of Chios. Forced to marry at an early age, she was widowed when her husband was captured by Turkish forces in 1570. She became a nun in 1571, and departed for Rome in 1584, where she was resident at the Palazzo of the de Marini family, near Santa Maria sopra Minerva. An extremely pious woman, she spent much of her day in prayer, and reportedly continually performed miracles.[2] After dying in 1600, there was some possibility of her being canonised, but the general antipathy of Pope Urban VIII to such events meant the opportunity passed.[2]

Patronage

Three descendants of Maria were responsible for commissioning Bernini to create the work, Ottaviano, Tommaso, and Lorenzo Raggi, whose names are noted in the Latin inscriptions in the bottom half of the memorial.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    Avery 1997, p. 141.
  2. [2]
    Bernstock 1980, pp. 243–255.

References

  • Avery, Charles (1997). Bernini: Genius of the Baroque. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500092710.
  • Bernstock, Judith (1980). "Bernini's Memorial to Maria Raggi". The Art Bulletin. 62 (2): 243–255. doi:10.2307/3049992. JSTOR 3049992.

Further reading

  • Ackermann, Felix. "Draperien in Stein", La soupe et les nuages, Etudes de lettres 254 (1999/3-4), pp. 7–26.
  • Mormando, Franco (2011). Bernini: His Life and His Rome. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226538525.
  • Wittkower, Rudolf (1955). Gian Lorenzo Bernini: The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque. London: Phaidon Press. ISBN 978-0801414305.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Memorial_to_Maria_Raggi, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.