Angel with the Inscription of I.N.R.I. 1660

Gian Lorenzo Bernini fashioned this terracotta angel sometime in the 17th century, a period when the Catholic Church wielded immense power in Europe. Bernini was a leading artist in Rome, the heart of the Catholic world, where his sculptures and architecture promoted the Church's agenda. This angel, with its dynamic pose and flowing drapery, embodies the dramatic style of the Baroque, which the Church embraced as a way to inspire religious fervor. But the angel's missing inscription introduces something more thought-provoking. The angel originally held a scroll bearing the Latin inscription "I.N.R.I.," which translates to "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." This inscription, placed on the cross during Christ's crucifixion, was a symbol of Roman authority and the Church's subsequent rise to power. As an art historian, I would look into archives and religious texts to understand more about how Bernini negotiated these complex messages of faith and power. This allows us to understand the social conditions of the time.