Alessandro Algardi, Roman Charity, bronze Alessandro Algardi (Bologna 1598 - Rome 1654) ROMAN CHARITY bronze sculpture, 48x22x18 cm Literature Jennifer Montagu, Alessandro Algardi, London 1985, vol. II, pp. 417-418 no. 134.C.8 This exemplar of Algardi's Charity is very close to other editions of the same subject, the best known of which is the one in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, a version recognised by Jennifer Montagu as the one in Florence and attributed to Algardi by Massimiliano Soldani at the end of the 17th century, then by Crespi and Oretti at the end of the 18th century. The scholar has also noted that the face with fine features is close to that of the Athena Ludovisi (Rome, Museo delle Terme), a work restored by Algardi in 1627, thus hypothesising that this depiction of Charity could have been the model for one of the four personifications for the catafalque of Carlo Barberini, designed by Bernini for the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Vanessa Gavioli, author of a critical file on the work under examination, pointed out that the version of the Charity analysed here "presents more concise formal solutions compared to the London version, consequently the surfaces appear smoother giving an impression of greater softness both in the drapery and in the flesh". Following Montagu's suggestion, which refers the London museum work to the early years, this re-edition, known in 1974 through a photograph provided by Gianfranco Luzzetti and included by the scholar in the catalogue dedicated to the sculptor, could be a little later precisely by virtue of the drapery being more coherent and structured.