Leading Ladies: Death of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni

Bernini
Leading Ladies
Strong Women in Art
Curated by Katie Sloan


Lorenzo Bernini, Death of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, 1671-74

In Bernini's last full figure sculpture, everything he is famous for comes to life. This sculpture of Ludovica Albertoni, placed in the Church of San Francesco a Ripa, embodies the idealization of death. The emotion on her face, an expression seen in other sculptures carved by Bernini, captures her feelings during her death. The way she clutches her chest shows her pain and the way her head is tilted back shows her taking her last breaths. 

Ludovica Albertoni was known as a Mother Teresa of her time. Raised in Roman nobility and wealth,  she wanted to lead a religious life. Ludovica wanted to dedicate her life to God and remain a virgin. However, her parents arranged for her to get married to Giacomo de Citara, a nobleman. She obeyed, and they were married and Ludovica gave birth to three daughters. Her husband unexpectedly passed away when Ludovica was only 33 years old. After this she joined Franciscan convent, where she devoted her life to prayer. Ludovica sacrificed her health in order to help the poor. She provided them with food and cared for them. She became known as a miracle worker and was also known for her religious ecstasies (she once levitated). She was in her sixties when she died from a painful fever. However, she had received the eucharist the day before, and her death was one of pain and joy. 

Bernini sought to capture all of these qualities in Ludovica's sculpture. He captures the pain of her death from fever with her hand clutching at her chest. He also captures her religious ecstasy in her face, a similar expression seen in his other works like Saint Teresa in Ecstasy, demonstrating the same sensual feeling of religious ecstasy. The folds in the marble are done with the skill and precision Bernini was famous for. The natural way the fabric flows is beautiful. There is no mistaking Bernini's talent as a sculptor. 

Ludovica's life shows her as a woman who had taken charge of herself and made herself.  She is truly a leading lady in art. Her importance in history gives her a place in the art world, her story ready to be told and listened to. Ludovica was a selfless woman whose independence would gain her a place in heaven and in art. 

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Death of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni

Bernini
Bernini, Death of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, 1674

One of his last sculptures and large pieces of art, Bernini started work on Death of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni at age 71. The work was commissioned by Carinal Albertoni, who had Bernini sculpt a relative of his on her deathbed. Ludavica died in 1533 from a fever. In Bernini's piece she lies looking up towards the cherubs gazing down on her. A painting of the holy family sits above her. The framework and cherubs, done by Bernini as he collaborated with the painter, illustrates the holiness awaiting Ludavica's spirit.

Her deathbed at the bottom of this magnificent piece shows the real mortal pains of death on Earth matched with the spiritual ecstasy of rising to heaven. We see the look of pleasure on her face and with her body language as Bernini gives her the emotion of longing to be without suffering.

This emotion we see in the earlier, defiant works of Bernini, most specifically St. Teresa in Ecstasy, but there are some differences and more maturity that I notice in this later piece. First of all, what I believe is most important, unlike the St. Teresa staged platformed and farther away in the Cornaro Chapel, The Ludovica is not blocked up, and the viewer and walk right up to it and feel her death and the emotion of the scene in full. Second, this sculpture radiates with femininity and sexuality of spiritual exultation, making the earlier piece 'forcefully masculine' and less intimate.

The flow of the marble from the bed to her clothing shows the growth and "almost magical powers" Bernini has acquired over the years - his drapery and detail unify the work.  Down the the detail work on the pillow, Bernini strikes again, even in his 70s, to create a phenomenal piece of art.
 
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