Gian Lorenzo Bernini was the greatest sculptor of the Baroque period, and yet—surprisingly—there has never been a major North American exhibition of his work. Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture—on view from August 5 through October 26, 2008, at the J. Paul Getty Museum and from November 28, 2008, through March 8, 2009, at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa—showcases portrait sculptures from all phases of the artist's long career, from the very early Antonio Coppola of 1612 to Clement X of about 1676.

Bernini's portrait busts were masterpieces of technical virtuosity; at the same time, they revealed a new interest in psychological depth. Bernini's ability to capture the essential character of his subjects was unmatched and had a profound influence on other leading sculptors of his day, such as Alessandro Algardi, Giuliano Finelli, and Francesco Mochi.

Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture is a groundbreaking study that also features drawings and paintings by Bernini and his contemporaries. Together they demonstrate not only the range, skill, and acuity of these masters of Baroque portraiture but also the interrelationship of the arts in seventeenth-century Rome.

Andrea Bacchi is professor of art history at the University of Trento, Italy. Jennifer Montagu is an honorary fellow at the Warburg Institute, London. Catherine Hess is the former associate curator in the Department of Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and Anne-Lise Desmas is a graduate intern in the same department.

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