Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini) (December 7, 1598 – November 28, 1680), who worked chiefly in Rome, was the pre-eminent baroque artist. Eminent as a sculptor and architect, he was also a painter, draftsman, designer of stage sets, fireworks displays, and funeral trappings.

Early Sculpture

Among these early Roman works are "The Goat Amalthea Nursing the Infant Zeus and a Young Satyr" (redated 1609, Galleria Borghese) and several allegorical busts such as the "Damned Soul" and "Blessed Soul" (ca 1619, Palazzo di Spagna, Rome). Under the patronage of the Cardinal Scipione Borghese the young Bernini rapidly rose to prominence as a sculptor. In the 1620s he came to maturity with the bust of Pope Paul V (1620). Many of his early works mainly dealt with secular themes, and can be seen at the Galleria Borghese in Rome, starting with: 1) the statue of Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/b/bernini/gianlore/sculptur/1610/aeneas.html depicting three ages of man from various viewpoints(1619) and perhaps reflecting the moment when son surpasses the skill of his father, Pietro. 2) the "Abduction of Proserpine" (1621-22)http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/b/bernini/gianlore/sculptur/1610/aeneas.html, where the young artist creates a monument recalling Giambologna's mannerist Rape of the Sabine Women and experiments with creating dimpling skin with marble. 3) The masterful "Apollo and Daphne" (1622-25) which documents the climax of the mythical story when the divine touch transmogrifies the nymph, according to the curse, into a tree http://www.bramarte.it/600/img/ber2.jpg. If sculpture is the depiction of life using inanimate stone, his conceit depicts in marble life changing to lifeless wood. 4) Finally the revolutionary "David" (1623-24), illustration below left and text below).

Related Topics:
1609 - Galleria Borghese - 1619 - Pope Paul V - Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius - Abduction of Proserpine - Giambologna - Rape of the Sabine Women - Apollo and Daphne - David

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