Bernardino Ludovisi


Bernardino Ludovisi, also called Bernardo, was an Italian sculptor.

Life and work

Little is known of his life. The Ludovisi were an ancient Italian family, originally from Bologna. Bernardino seems to have spent most, if not all, of his career in Rome. He is an example of a working sculptor of his time, proficient in his craft but largely forgotten today.
Ludovisi participated in several prominent sculptural projects of his day, such as the Trevi Fountain, the ongoing sculptural works of St Peter’s, and the façade of St John Lateran. He was one of six Italian sculptors allotted subsidiary tasks to the French masters Pierre Le Gros and Jean-Baptiste Théodon working on the Chapel of St Ignatius in Il Gesù. He was also one of the sculptors commissioned by King João V of Portugal to supply sculpture to his palatial complex at Mafra. Towards the end of his life he was employed by the Colonna family, prominent patrons of the arts, for whom he completed the funerary monuments of Filippo II Colonna and Maria Rospigliosi Salviati, as well as a portrait bust of Pope Benedict XIV.
Ludovisi began in the vein of Baroque classicism, but as he matured he began to lean toward the French style of Le Gros and the Rococo, exemplifying a later, gentler variation of Italian Baroque which Enggass named barocchetto. His work is characterised by an attention to detail, an effective use of colour, and a painterly manner in his reliefs.

List of known works

Four Evangelists, façade of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, Rome.God the Father, Chapel of St Ignatius, Il Gesù, Rome.Charity, Museo di Palazzo Venezia, Rome.Bust of Cardinal Pompeo Aldrovandi, Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna.Charity, St Peters, Vatican, Rome.St Cajetan of Thiene, portico, Basilica, Mafra, Portugal.St Francis of Paola, portico, Basilica, Mafra, Portugal.St Augustine, atop the crowning balustrade of the main façade, S. Giovanni in Laterno, Rome.Naming of John the Baptist, narthex, S. Giovanni in Laterno, Rome.Caritas Romana, State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.Fertility of the Fields, Trevi Fountain, Rome.Angels and cherub heads, presbytery, S. Maria degli Angeli, Rome.Mary Magdalene, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence.Caritas Romana, Jardim do Ultramar, Lisbon.