Bernini and the Idealization of Death

Shelley Karen Perlove is Associate Professor in the History of Art, University of Michigan at Dearborn.

“Shelly Perlove has given, for the first time, a thorough, lucid, and convincing analysis of one of Bernini’s most famous works. The main thrust of the study is to reveal the levels of meaning—theological, social, and personal—that underlie the high emotionalism and direct appeal of this revolutionary product of Bernini’s late period. Perlove provides an unusual and stimulating account of the Albertoni family interests in promoting devotion to Ludovica, as well as the popular social and economic strata in Rome to which she appealed. This background sheds considerable light on the contemporary significance of the work.”—Irving Lavin, Institute for Advanced Study