The Charity of St. Martin

It would be pointless to try to define the personality of Pietro Bernini by drawing a comparison with his son; in reality the scale of comparison, the only valid one for the Florentine sculptor, is that of Mannerism: not in its perfect form, à la Giambologna, but in certain subtle variations à la Caccini. Only thus can one explain a certain expressive harshness that chills his sculpture.