San Marino · 420th birthday of Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Issue date20 Sept 2018

Total mintage63,100

EU maximum60,500

Editions3

Edge lettering2 ★ × 6, alternately upright/inverted

Inscription1598-2018 / SAN MARINO / R / BERNINI / A.M.

DesignerAnnalisa Masini

mintInstituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato, Roma

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 420th anniversary of the birth of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The design features Bernini’s bust of Costanza Bonarelli, surrounded by the years “1598–2018” and the inscriptions “SAN MARINO” and “BERNINI”. The initials “A.M.” of the artist Annalisa Masini appear to the right below the bust.

The design

The coin design features the bust by Bernini of Costanza Bonarelli. To the left of the image, the years “1598-2018” can be read, while the inscription “SAN MARINO” runs semicircularly around the outside. To the right of the image is “R”, the mint mark of Rome, and the inscription “BERNINI” is embossed semicircularly around the outside. The initials of the artist Annalisa Masini, “A.M.”, are shown to the lower right of the bust.
The outer ring of the coin features the twelve stars of the European flag.

Background on the topic

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian sculptor, architect and draughtsman of the Roman Baroque. He worked mainly in Rome and received numerous commissions from popes and influential noble families. In his sculptures, he combined precise observation of nature with a form of representation focused on movement, emotion and spatial effect. His works include the baldachin over the tomb of St Peter in St Peter’s Basilica (Petersdom), the colonnades of St Peter’s Square, the sculptural group Apollo and Daphne (Apollo und Daphne), and The Rape of Proserpina (Raub der Proserpina). He was also involved in the design of several Roman fountains, including the Fountain of the Four Rivers (Vierströmebrunnen) in Piazza Navona. Bernini died in Rome in 1680.

Costanza Bonarelli, whose full name was Costanza Piccolomini Bonarelli, was the wife of the sculptor and restorer Matteo Bonarelli, who belonged to the circle around Bernini’s workshop. She and Bernini had a personal relationship. Unlike official portraits of rulers, clergy or patrons, her marble bust, created around 1636 to 1638, depicts a private, informal appearance. The slightly open garment, the seemingly dishevelled hair and the open mouth convey the impression of a moment captured directly. This distinguishes the work from the representative portrait art of its time.

The bust is also regarded as an example of how Bernini used hard marble to reproduce skin, fabric and lively facial expression. It is now housed in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence. The choice of this work therefore directs attention not only to Bernini’s public architectural and monumental commissions, but also to his portrait art and private circle.

San Marino regularly commemorates anniversaries from Italian and European art and cultural history on its commemorative coins. Bernini’s life’s work provided an occasion with a close connection to the art history of the Italian peninsula. The Costanza Bonarelli bust is also a clearly recognisable individual work that lends itself to a reduced pictorial representation.