31 GIAN LORENZO BERNINI Italian, 1598­1680 Design for a Fountain, with a Marine God Clutching a Dolphin Black chalk 34.9 x 23.8 cm (13 11/16 x 9 in.) Cat. II, no. 5; 87.GB.142 Bernini was an architect and a painter as well as the most successful Italian sculptor of his day. In 1650 Duke Francesco I d'Este of Modena had successfully persuaded Bernini to make his portrait bust, which was completed the following year (Modena, Galleria Estense). So pleased was the duke with the flamboyant likeness of himself that, in 1652—53, he asked Bernini to submit drawings for a fountain to embellish the d'Este family palace at Sassuolo. This powerfully evocative design is for the fountain of Neptune, which is still in situ in the courtyard of the palace. The liveliness of the figure as it struggles with the dolphin is typical of Bernini's vigorous, High Baroque style. Framed in a niche, whose edges are indicated on either side of the drawing, the fountain was executed by Bernini's assistant Antonio Raggi. A more finished studio drawing for the project is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. 42 ITALIAN SCHOOL