The Thorvaldsens Museum Archives

Comment on 3.12.1799

In 1674, a bust of Raphael, executed by the sculptor Pietro Paolo Baldini (also known as Naldini, ca. 1605-1650), was placed on Raphael’s tomb in the Pantheon, also known as la Rotonda. Together with the other busts in the Pantheon, the bust was moved to the Capitol in 1820, and the collection was named La Protomoteca Capitolina, the Capitoline portrait galleri. See Cataloghi dei Musei comunali di Roma, V, La Protomoteca Capitolina, Rome 1955, p. 11-12, 80.
Thorvaldsen fulfilled Abildgaard’s wish and executed a relatively free copy of Baldini’s bust in marble, A752. It was acquired by Thorvaldsens Museum at the auction in 1850 after Abildgaard’s widow.

Last updated 08.01.2018