Portrait of Benedict XIV

In 1739 Prospero Lambertini was cardinal archbishop of Bologna, and he commissioned Crespi to paint his portrait on a monumental scale, more than two and a half metres tall, for the city's major seminary, the college where its priests were trained. Then, in February 1740, Pope Clement XII died. The conclave that followed dragged on for six months, and in August, on the 255th ballot, the cardinals settled on Lambertini as a compromise. He took the name Benedict XIV.

The new pope wanted the picture in Rome, and Crespi went back to the canvas. X-rays taken during its restoration in 1981 show how far he changed it. He made the figure larger, changed the robes, and added objects that announce the new office, among them the papal tiara. Bologna did not lose its archbishop at once. Benedict kept the see for almost 14 more years, until January 1754.