Editing Alessandro Algardi (section)

==Fuga d'Attila relief==
[[File:Expulsão de átila.jpg|thumb|left|''Fuga d'Attila'', St. Peter's Basilica.]]
Algardi's large, dramatic, high-relief marble panel of Pope Leo and Attila, created from 1646 to 1653,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/a/algardi/2/meeting.html |title=The Meeting of Leo I and Attila}}</ref> is commonly referred to as ''Fuga d'Attila'' or ''Flight of Attila''. It was created for [[St Peter's Basilica]], and it reinvigorated the use of such marble reliefs. There had been large marble reliefs used previously in Roman churches,{{efn|For example, Gian Lorenzo's father, [[Pietro Bernini]]'s crowded ''Assumption of the Virgin'' for [[Santa Maria Maggiore]]&nbsp;(1606)}} but for most patrons, sculpted marble altarpieces were far too costly. In this relief, the two principal figures, the stern and courageous pope and the dismayed and frightened [[Attila]], surge forward from the center into three dimensions. Only they two see the descending angelic warriors rallying to the pope's defense, while all others in the background reliefs, persist in performing their respective earthly duties.

The subject was apt for a papal state seeking to increase its power, since it depicts the historical legend wherein Saint Leo the Great, the first pope to receive the epithet, with supernatural aid, deterred the Huns from looting Rome. From a [[baroque]] standpoint, the incident is common theme: a moment of divine intervention in the affairs of man. Algardi's patron's message through the relief would be that all viewers should be sternly reminded of the papal capacity to invoke divine retribution against enemies.<ref>''Italian Baroque Sculpture'', Bruce Boucher, pages 152-153.</ref>

In his later years Algardi controlled a large studio and amassed a great fortune. Algardi's classicizing manner was carried on by pupils, including [[Ercole Ferrata]] and [[Domenico Guidi]], and [[Antonio Raggi]] initially trained with him. The latter two completed his design for an altarpiece of the ''Vision of Saint Nicholas'' at [[San Nicola da Tolentino, Rome]], using two separate marble pieces linked together in one event and place, yet successfully separating the divine and earthly spheres. Other lesser known assistants from his studio include [[Francesco Barrata]], [[Girolamo Lucenti]], and [[Giuseppe Peroni]].

Algardi died in Rome within a year of completing his famous relief, which was admired by contemporaries.