Leseprobe

13 the pope remained in the city and made combatting the pestilence his personal concern by reconvening the Congregazione della Sanità and ensuring that the emergency rules were rig- orously obeyed. When the success in fighting the plague finally made itself felt, Alexander VII became the hero of the people of Rome. Created for the personal devotion of the pope himself, Bernini’s Death’s Head was not only a memento mori urging its owner to put his remaining time to good use in a godly life, it was also the visible expression of the pope’s own conviction that death’s hold would be broken through the act of redemption and the resurrection of Christ, and that our death on Earth opens the door to eternal life in God. Beyond the purely salvific context, however, the fact that Alexander VII also understood the message of carpe diem as justification to beautify Rome and found a willing kindred spirit in the artist and architect Bernini is an exceptional stroke of luck in the history of that city – and, by extension, ours. In Bernini’s plans, special attention was paid to the route pilgrims had to take from the Porta del Popolo, via the Ponte Sant’Angelo, and finally to Saint Peter’s Basilica – an experience that reached its impressive climax in Bernini’s spectacular design of Saint Peter’s Square. Once again, exhibitions of this kind highlight the uninterrupted relevance of great works by old masters who – in addition to all of their formidable mastery – also pose profound, existential questions. In the artistic treatment of myths, in the depiction of biblical tales or significant historical events, they formulate our yearning, our convictions, and sometimes even our innermost feelings. They tell of the greatness and misery of humankind, of bravery and faint-heartedness, of self lessness and greed, of the power and danger of desire, of beauty as a manifestation of good. They thematize our mortality, our relationship to creation, to God. In them, we come into contact with ourselves. This exhibition project, which focuses on a prominent object from our own collection, would not have been possible without the generosity of many lenders. I would like to extend my special thanks to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and particularly to the extremely helpful Bailiff Fra’ John Edward Critien, as well as to my senior colleagues here at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden: Stephanie Buck, director of the Kupferstich-Kabinett, and Rainer Grund, director of the Münzkabinett. We have Claudia Kryza-Gersch, curator of Renaissance and Baroque sculpture, to thank for passionately bringing the important research findings to light and curating this fascinating exhibition. Yvonne Wagner provided valuable support in questions of organization, Marcus Lilge assisted us in structuring the presentation, and J rgen Lange and Hans Effenberger supervised the transport logistics and installation of the exhibits, some of which weighting one ton. In their stimulating articles, the authors of the present publication have vividly illustrated the historical situation, the personal and political ambitions of the historical figures involved, the outstanding calibre of the works on show, and their far-reaching impact. Last but not least, with their extraordinary commitment, Sandstein Verlag has produced a beautiful book on this ambitious enterprise that further underscores the excep- tional significance of our collection. My sincere thanks go to them all!