Contributo alla scultura romana del tardo Settecento. Un ritratto inedito di Pio VI

While investigating late- Baroque Roman sculptures in the Palàcio Nacional of Mafra (Lisbon) a white marble base-relief was discovered. It is a so far unknown papal depiction.The portrait at half-length may repre- sent Pio VI Braschi who was Pope from 1775-1799, as declared by the coat-of-arms of the Braschi family on the stole. The marble image comes from the royal Portuguese collection and was probably made for the court of Lisbon or commissioned by the Por- tuguese ambassador in Rome, or even given to the king by the same Pope.The style of the base-relief corresponds to those of Roman sculptures towards the end of the 18th century; there is a collection of marble portraits of Pio VI carved by artists working in Rome at the time ( Pietro Bracci, Ferdinando Lisandroni,Giuseppe Ceracchi, Gio- vanni Pierantoni, Nicola Valentini )which allow us to insert the portrait at Mafra in the context of this pro- duction placing it at a time of transi- tion between the great Baroque depic- tion and the newly acquired moderate styles of the neo classic taste. The analysis of this sculpture due to the delicate and mellow effect of the Pio VI features makes it more similar to the style of Ferdinando Lisandroni.