The first version is often considered the superior version with Howard Hibbard describing Bernini's handling of the marble as giving it a "new dimension of reality". Whilst the second is still clearly the work of Bernini, it is considered much less spontaneous.,Maurizio and Marcello Fagiolo dell’ Arco, Bernini: una introduzione al gran teatro del barocco, entry no. 69 with Wittkower commenting that it "lacks the animation and vitality of the first one".Rudolf Wittkower, Bernini, 1955, p.200 Others, however, are quite happy to point out the strengths of the second bust, Charles Avery calling it "one of the greatest portraits of all time in any medium, this bust is a work of genius".Charles Avery, Bernini, Genius of the Baroque, 1997, p.88
