The Blessed Soul

In Chapter 10 of the Second Book of De Pictura Sacra, written in 1624, Cardinal Borromeo writes: “All these sentiments, so admirably expressed in a clay panel, can be seen in the statues and paintings of our Library, one of which shows in as many scenes the desperation of the damned, the mourning of Purgatory and the bliss of Paradise.” The three little sculptures are modeled with great realism and the face of the damned soul is particularly worthy of note.