Editing Alessandro Algardi (section)

==Papal favour under Innocent X and Spanish commissions==
[[File:Inocêncio X de alessandro algardi.jpg|thumb|right|''Pope Innocent X'', Capitoline Museums.]]

With the death of the Barberini [[Pope Urban VIII]] in 1644 and the accession of the [[Pamphilj]] [[Pope Innocent X]], the Barberini family and fell into disrepute, resulting in fewer commissions for Bernini.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bernini: His Life and His Rome|last=Mormando|first=Francesco|year=2011|pages=149}}</ref> Algardi, on the other hand, was embraced by the new pope{{efn|Algardi's official 1645 portrait statue of Innocent X is preserved in the [[Palazzo dei Conservatori]] on the [[Campidoglio]].}} and the pope's nephew, [[Camillo Pamphilj]].{{efn|His portrait bust of Camillo Pamphili, 1647, is at The [[Hermitage Museum]], Saint Petersburg [http://www.scultura-italiana.com/Galleria/Algardi%20Alessandro/imagepages/image2.html illustration].}} Algardi's portraits were highly prized, and their formal severity contrasts with Bernini's more vivacious expression.{{efn|Compare the prior images with {{URL|1=http://www.museicapitolini.org/scripts/scheda.asp?lingua=en&id=MC1199|2=Bernini's Urban VIII}}}} A large hieratic bronze of Innocent X by Algardi is now to be found in the [[Musei Capitolini|Capitoline Museums]].

Algardi was not renowned for his architectural abilities. Although he was in charge of the project for the papal villa, the Villa Pamphili, now [[Villa Doria Pamphili]], outside the Porta San Pancrazio in Rome, he may have had professional guidance on the design of the casino from the architect/engineer [[Girolamo Rainaldi]] and help with supervising its construction from his assistant [[Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi]].<ref>Montagu, Jennifer. ''Alessandro Algardi'', Vol. 1, Yale, 1985, pp. 94–6,</ref> The casino was a showcase for the Pamphili collection of sculpture, ancient and contemporary, on which Algardi was well able to advise. In the villa grounds, Algardi and his studio executed sculpture-encrusted fountains and other garden features, where some of his free-standing sculpture and bas-reliefs remain.

In 1650 Algardi met [[Diego Velázquez]], who obtained commissions for his work from [[Spain]]. As a consequence there are four chimney-pieces by Algardi in the [[Royal Palace of Aranjuez]], and in the gardens, the figures on the fountain of [[Neptune (god)|Neptune]] are also by him. The Augustinian monastery at [[Salamanca]] contains the tomb of the Count and Countess de Monterey, another work by Algardi.<ref name="EB1911"/>