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From 1647-1649
Bernini supervised work on the decoration of the nave in the spandrels of the
arches, with stucco statues of the Allegories. These had alread
been begun by Ambrogio Buonvicino and Camillo Mariani, with the figures
of Faith, Charity, Justice and Fortitude. This series of 28 large
allegorical, full relief statues, was designed according to the baroque
iconography established by Cesare Ripa as an example of the teaching
being imparted by the Church through art.
The middle decades of
the 17th century were years marked by great decorative projects for St
Peter's, which rapidly changed the severe aspect of the unadorned
church, in conformity with the principles of the Counter-reformation.
Source: St Peter's Basilica - A Virtual Tour by Our Sunday Visitor, ©1999
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