Bust of Pope Clement XII
by VALLE, Filippo della, Terracotta, height 96 cm
The Bust of Pope Clement XII was long attributed to Pieter Antoon Verschaffelt (1710-1793) from Ghent, who lived and worked in Rome during the papacy of Clement XIII and Benedict XIV and performed a number of important commissions. The portrait is now believed to be the work of Filippo della Valle, one of Rome’s leading sculptors in the mid-18th century. The marble version of this terracotta bust is now in the Palazzo Braschi in the Italian capital.