Vatican City
Rome Italy
2016

(Mar 14, 1800 - Aug 20, 1823) Barnaba Chiaramonte
by Bertel Thorvaldsen, 1823-31

http://stpetersbasilica.info/Monuments/PiusVII/PiusVII.htm

Like his predecessor, Pius VII endured imprisonment by Napoleon. He restored the Jesuit order in 1814.

His secretary of state, Cardinal Consalvi, commissioned this monument by Thorvaldsen (the only Protestant sculptor in St. Peter's).

A fanciful story developed that Thorvaldsen, being a protestant and not allowed to sign his work, carved his own face on Pius VII's body. A simple look at the portraits of each, prove this not to be the case.

On the other side of the Chapel is the Monument to Pius VII by A. Thorvaldsen, the most valid of Canova's followers, who executed a work accurately described by Galasso Paluzzi as showing a "tiresome ostentatious overabundance." In fact, in his quest for simple stateliness and severity, there is little relationship between the sculptures - the emaciated Pope seated on a throne, the two winged spirits at his side and the excessively small statues of Time and History - and the naked, square base, somewhat out of character with the upper part decorated with rays.

The monument to Pope Pius VII was created by Bertel Thorvaldsen. The work, balanced between a Canova-type inspiration and the subsequent naturalistic and neo-15th-century requirements, lacks compositional and interpretative emotional unity, since it is overly symmetrical and rhetorical. On the other hand, without the originality and sensitivity of Canova, it was difficult to match the neoclassical needs with sincere Christian acceptance about such a theme. In addition, the Danish artist is unable to create harmony between the whiteness of the central funereal temple and the surrounding statues, and the placid multicolored hues of the rear niche. The Pope seated at the See, in the act of blessing, appears too stiff in his solemn garments, almost as if he were posing for an official picture. The expression of the face is more effective, and shows the signs of the exile and his long and troubled reign. Two winged cupids with more minute proportions, one symbolizing time (hourglass) and the other history (book), are located on the sides of the throne. The two statues of "Knowledge" and "Fortitude" are located on the sides of the Doric door, on high pedestals. The first is depicted in a meditative pose, with the Bible open, and at its feet, an owl, the symbol of prudence. The second figure is dressed in lion skins, while one foot stands on a club.

https://www.walksinrome.com/a-guide-to-st-peters-basilica.html

St. Peter’s Basilica is the largest church in the world. It stands above the spot where St Peter is thought to have been buried. The basilica is the second church to have been erected here; the first was built by Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306-337) between 324 and 329.