A newly attributed portrait at the Kunsthistorisches Museum reveals Bernini’s rare talent as a painter, blending sculptural force and painting in a remarkable Baroque rediscovery.

Long considered anonymous, a striking portrait of an old man in the Kunsthistorisches Museum is now attributed to the Baroque genius Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a rare and remarkable discovery. Almost life-size, the bust grips viewers with its piercing gaze and palpable presence. Bernini, famed creator of Apollo and Daphne and architect of St. Peter’s Square, is known to have painted only for his own pleasure, and fewer than twenty works survive as autograph paintings. This book traces the thrilling investigation behind the attribution and reveals how Bernini infused paint with sculptural force, redefining the boundaries between painting and sculpture.