A project for the
decoration of the chapel of the Annunciation, also
called the Fonseca Chapel, must have already been in
course when, on the 14th April 1661, the altar was
given to the Portuguese doctor Gabriele Fonseca, the
archiater to Pope Innocent X, noted for having
introduced the use of quinine. The theme of the
altar-piece of Gimignani supported by angels in flight
on a carpet of clouds (partly changed) is a typical
invention of Bernini's also used in other contemporary
designs. The bust of Gabriele Fonseca, completed
perhaps before 1664, is caught, in complete harmony
with the surrounding space, in an attitude of great
meditation
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