Monumento Sepolcrale in Bronzo di Sisto IV. nella Balisica Vatirana

Monumento Sepolcrale in Bronzo di Sisto IV. nella Balisica Vatirana

Table LXXIX.
BRONZE TOMB OF POPE SIXTUS IV
In the Vatican Basilica

… It consists of two pillars decorated in foliage and flowers, above which rests an entablature that is rich in ornaments, especially in its beautiful frieze, covered in foliage and rosettes. Above this begins an arch covered in carvings, and on it, the venerated images of Our Lady with her Divine Child in her arms, and two winged figures kneeling in a fine act of prayer can be seen. The fresco painting has a wonderful exquisiteness, and it is lamentable that it has been so battered by time. On top of the arch lies the salvific cross. Enclosed between the two aforementioned pillars is an arch, inside of which the mortal remains of the Christian saint are kept, resting peacefully, which was a tradition that dominated the fifteenth century. There is an urn decorated with festoons, and above this. He was honored for his above average prowess in handling public affairs in the forum with the sincerity of one who truly loved his country. And of course he loved it, because it had the desired experience in the difficult years towards the end of the Florentine Republic, divided by factions and torn by external and internal wars.
A little lower, hath another body from the same family, the grandson of the above, who entered into eternity at a dear, young age. Both sides of this humble memory are written in Greek; two mottos alluding to the departed, that sound the following way in our discourteous language: WORSHIPPER OF THE HOME BUT MINDFUL OF THE TOMB. And these are the words that should be imprinted into every mortal’s soul.

Drawn by Francesco M. Tosi

Presso l'Editore Proprietario

15th and 16th Sculpture

Unknown Donor

Geneseo Foundation

Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 5

20 x 16

Italian

Print

Italian Monuments in Rome created during the 15th and 16th Century

Prints were made circa 1835 to 1860