Editing Alessandro Algardi (section)

==Early years==
Algardi was born in [[Bologna]], where at a young age, he was apprenticed in the studio of [[Agostino Carracci]]. However, his aptitude for [[sculpture]] led him to work for Giulio Cesare Conventi (1577–1640), an artist of modest talents. His two earliest known works date back to this period: two statues of saints, made of chalk, in the Oratory of Santa Maria della Vita in Bologna. By the age of twenty, [[Duke of Mantua|Ferdinando I, Duke of Mantua]], began commissioning works from him, and he was also employed by local jewelers for figurative designs.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bellori|first=Giovanni Pietro|title=Le vite de' pittori, scultori et architetti moderni|publisher=Marcardi|year=1672|isbn=|location=Rome|pages=}}</ref> After a short residence in [[Venice]], he went to Rome in 1625 with an introduction from the Duke of Mantua to the [[Pope Gregory XV|late pope's]] nephew, Cardinal [[Ludovico Ludovisi]], who employed him for a time in the restoration of ancient statues.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Algardi, Alessandro|volume=1|page=598}}</ref>{{efn|These restored statues still form the core of the ''Bonacorsi-Ludovisi collection'' in [[Palazzo Altemps]]. Sculpture restoration was a common employment for even the most prominent sculptors of his day, including Bernini and [[Ercole Ferrata]].}}