Yale Center for British Art
Creator:
Christopher Hewetson, 1737/38–1798, British, active in Italy (from 1765)
Title:
Pope Clement XIV (Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, 1705–1774; reigned 1769–1774)
Date:
ca. 1772
Materials & Techniques:
Marble
Dimensions:
Overall: 31 1/2 × 26 × 12 inches (80 × 66 × 30.5 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.14
Gallery Label:
Christopher Hewetson was born in Ireland but settled in Rome in 1765, where he created a thriving business making portrait busts. This popular example, of which at least five versions were made, helped establish Hewetson’s reputation. British tourists in Rome were charmed by Pope Clement and his unexpected fondness for English Protestants. Despite the imposing scale of the bust, Clement appears affable and approachable. The second button of his mozzetta is undone, as if the unworldly pontiff had overlooked it with his mind on higher things. \n\n Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016