Bernini's Beloved

June 2013 - Sarah McPhee, Winship Distinguished Research Professor, Emory University. Costanza Piccolomini was Gianlorenzo Bernini's beloved. His passion for this woman was so strong it inspired the sculptor to preserve her beauty in one of his most captivating portrait busts and to commission a violent crime against her. But until now, little has been known about the woman herself. In this lecture recorded at the National Gallery of Art on March 10, 2013, Sarah McPhee draws from the revelations of her new book, Bernini's Beloved: A Portrait of Costanza Piccolomini, to discuss the nature of Bernini's artistry and the surprising life of this remarkable woman who forged a career as an art collector and dealer in the wake of their tempestuous affair.