University Gets Sculpture As William James Memorial

Through the generosity of Gabriel Wells the University has acquired a marble bust of Rene Descartes, by Giovanui Loronzo Bernini, an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period. The statue is now on exhibition in the loggia on the second floor of the Fogg Art Museum. The statue was presented in the memory of William James.

The bust, executed about 1646, was formerly in the Lord North collection and the Paget collection. Bernini was known especially for the characterization and realistic power of his portrait statues.