The Charity of St Thomas of Villanova
Artist
Melchiorre Cafà
Maltese, 1636 - 1667
Date1663
Period17th century
Classification(s)
Object TypeSculpture
Registration NumberFAS/S/40
DescriptionThe Maltese sculptor Melchiorre Cafà was admired as a brilliant virtuoso of the Roman Baroque. His talents even attracted the attention of the great sculptor and architect, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He died in Rome at the young age of 31, leaving behind a number of unfinished commissions. This work is a model for the ‘Charity of St Thomas of Villanova’ in the Pamphili family chapel in the Church of S. Agostino in Rome. The bozzetto was executed with great confidence and boldness, particularly as Cafà pushes the figures of Charity and the children outside the niche that frames the central figure of St Thomas of Villanova. The elongation of the figures and the fleeting movement in the drapery show unprecedented originality in the sculptor’s style and technique. He died before finishing the marble sculpture which was completed by Ercole Ferrata in whose bottega Cafà worked.MaterialTerracotta
TechniqueModelling
Place of ManufactureRome
Dimensionsh. 46, w. 28, d. 20 cmProvenanceAcquired in 1926-27.Alternate ID Numbers
- HM Object Number 52952
- Inventory Card 247-8
Online Collections
Public Access
On viewMuseumMUŻA
Location
- MUŻA, First Floor, Baroque: 1530-1798, Melchiorre Cafà: A Maltese Sculptor in Rome
MMPHOT 8748
16 April 1961
Photography
