The sculptor and architect Bernini was a member of the confraternity of the Bona Mors ('Good Death') in Rome, and he prepared meticulously for his own death. Self-examination – mainly of the soul, but unavoidably of the flesh too – was an important element of this, and his self-portrait is an unflinching examination of the marks of age on Bernini's face, powerful reminders of his mortality.

Cat. 19