Saint Longinus
Bolgi created his "Saint Helena" (1629–1639) for one of the niches at the crossing of St. Peter's Basilica, one of the choice commissions of his generation, for which he had doubtless been promoted by Bernini in preference to Finelli. Bolgi laboured for a decade on the figure that epitomised his career and, in some degree, his detraction: Wittkower remarked on its "classicizing coolness, its boring precision", and its position directly across from Bernini's masterful "Saint Longinus" invited unflattering comparisons.