![Portrait of the Artist Portrait of the Artist](https://cmsadmin.rct.uk/sites/default/files/lead_image_half_height/PoA%20half%20height.png)
A self-portrait
c. 1675-80RCIN 905539
The sculptor and architect Bernini was a member of the confraternity of the Bona Mors ('Good Death') in Rome, and he prepared meticulously for his own death. Self-examination – mainly of the soul, but unavoidably of the flesh too – was an important element of this, and his self-portrait is an unflinching examination of the marks of age on Bernini's face, powerful reminders of his mortality.
Cat. 19