Angel with the Superscription c. 1667 - 1668

Curator: This terracotta sculpture at the Harvard Art Museums is titled "Angel with the Superscription" and was created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. What's your initial take? Editor: There's a raw, immediate sense of grief. The angel's posture—arms crossed, head bowed—suggests a profound sorrow. Curator: The superscription refers to the inscription on the cross. Bernini rendered several angels for the Ponte Sant'Angelo, commissioned by Pope Clement IX. This is thought to be a study for one of those. Editor: So, this figure embodies both religious iconography and political power, reflecting the Church's influence? It's interesting how Bernini captures ephemeral emotion in a solid form. Curator: The immediacy you noticed speaks to Bernini's baroque genius. He knew how to capture fleeting moments of human drama and charge them with symbolic weight. Editor: Seeing it as a study helps me understand the energy in the clay. There's a sense of process here—we see the artist working through an idea. Curator: Absolutely, and it reveals how the angel, a symbol of divine intervention, is also deeply embedded in earthly power dynamics. Editor: It is fascinating how a sketch, even one meant to be translated into stone, carries such profound emotional and historical weight.