Transcript Brief biography - American University in Bulgaria

Brief biography
The baroque sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini was born in 1598 in
Naples, son of the Tuscan sculptor Pietro Bernini. In 1605 the family moved to
Rome. As a boy, Gian Lorenzo worked as assistant to his less talented father.
Bernini's first patron was the nephew of Pope Paul V, Cardinal Scipio Borghese,
for whom he executed the four famous sculpture groups in the Borghese
Gallery: David, Aeneas with Anchises and Ascanius, Apollo and
Daphne, and the Rape of Proserpina. Subsequently he worked for
Pope Urban VIII (Maffeo Barberini), designing and executing the bronze canopy
over the high altar of St. Peter's.
In 1644 Urban VIII was succeeded by Innocence X (Pamphilij) and for a time
Bernini fell out of favor. During this period the sculptor began to work on the
group "Time uncovers Truth", now in the Borghese Gallery, (presumably a
reference to his own position), and obtained some private commissions. But
with his design for the Fountain of the Rivers in Piazza Navona, he regained
papal patronage, and from then on he worked chiefly for the Vatican. The
cathedra in the apse of St. Peter's and the layout of the square in front of the
basilica date from this period.
Baroque
• The period in art history from about 1600 to about 1750.
In this sense the term covers a wide range of styles and
artists. In painting and sculpture there were three main
forms of Baroque: (1) sumptuous display, a style
associated with the Catholic Counter Reformation and
the absolutist courts of Europe (Bernini, Rubens); (2)
dramatic realism (Caravaggio); and (3) everyday realism,
a development seen in particular in Holland (Rembrandt,
Vermeer). In architecture, there was an emphasis on
expressiveness and grandeur, achieved through scale,
the dramatic use of light and shadow, and increasingly
elaborate decoration. In a more limited sense the term
Baroque often refers to the first of these categories.
Fontana del Tritone
Travertine, over life-size
Piazza Barberini, Rome
1624-43
•
Fontana del Tritone
• Saint Peter's throne is the last of Bernini's large
monuments designed for the San Pietro. This completes
and crowns his forty years long work in the decoration of
the interior of the main church of the Roman Catholics.
The throne symbolizes the power of the Pope. Bernini
created an optical and artistic unity of the throne and the
baldachin erected above the tomb of Saint Peter. The
light coming from a natural source (the window of the
apsis) is part of the composition, similarly than in two
other great Bernini compositions, in the Saint Therese
group, and in the tomb Ludovica Albertoni.
• This composition became the prototype of the Baroque
glories to be found in large numbers in European
churches.
Fountain of the Four Rivers
1648-51
Travertine and marble
Piazza Navona, Rome
The Fountain of the Four Rivers
• This fountain was executed by a large group of coworkers under the
supervision of Bernini. It is debated whether he sculpted personally
the rocks, the palmtree, the lion and the horse, but it is generally
accepted that his contribution was limited to the final phase of the
work. From the remaining sketches it is unambigous that the idea
and design are Bernini's. This composition preceded and prepared
the great composition of Saint Peter's throne in the San Pietro.
• The fountain represents the four continents and their rivers, the
obelisk in the center is the symbol of Christ and the triumphing
Roman Catholic Church over the whole world. The figure of Nile,
sculpted by Jacopo Antonio Fancelli, represents Africa; the Danube,
by Antonio Raggi, Europe; the Ganges, by Claude Poussin, Asia;
and the Plate, by Francesco Baratta, the Americas, discovered a
century and a half earlier.
The Ecstasy of Saint Therese
1647-52
Marble, height 350 cm
Cappella Cornaro, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome
The Ecstasy of Saint Therese
• Bernini tackles a theme, as old as the tradition of
images: the female principal transmuted by the action of
the male principal. The two figures are situated in space
with a subtle displacement of their bodies. Almost
indescribable is the gesture of the angel-satyr, shown as
he draws the dart from the female body, caught in
momentary abeyance before it falls back. The figures are
brought to life before our eyes. The centre of gravity of
the complex mass of marble is shifting: the saint is
sinking down (her symbolic foot emerging), and the
young satyr moves into the forefront. The focal point of
the whole is in that flame-tipped arrow so vividly
described by St Teresa of Avila in her spiritual
autobiography.
The Throne of Saint Peter
1657-66
Marble, bronze, white and golden stucco
San Pietro, Rome
The Throne of Saint Peter
• Saint Peter's throne is the last of Bernini's large monuments
designed for the San Pietro. This completes and crowns his forty
years long work in the decoration of the interior of the main church
of the Roman Catholics. The throne symbolizes the power of the
Pope. Bernini created an optical and artistic unity of the throne and
the baldachin erected above the tomb of Saint Peter. The light
coming from a natural source (the window of the apsis) is part of the
composition, similarly than in two other great Bernini compositions,
in the Saint Therese group, and in the tomb Ludovica Albertoni.
• This composition became the prototype of the Baroque glories to be
found in large numbers in European churches.
Tomb of Pope Alexander (Chigi) VII
1671-78
Marble and gilded bronze, over life-size
Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican
Tomb of Pope Alexander (Chigi) VII
• This is the second monumental papal tomb in the San
Pietro made by Bernini. It was commissioned by the
Pope and executed after his death in 1667 by a large
group of sculptors headed by Bernini.
• The composition is similar to that of the other (Urban
VIII) tomb, however, there some differences. In contrast
with the dominant figure of the Pope on the Urban tomb,
the Pope here is a simple kneeling figure without any
sign of his office. Instead of two there are four allegoric
figures, Charity, Prudence, Justice and Truth. Below,
there is a (real) door symbolizing the Gate of Death, from
which a sand-glass holding skeleton (the Death) raises
the heavy drapery.
Tomb of Pope Urban VIII
(Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican) Golden bronze and marble, figures larger than life-size (1627-47)
Trip to France
• Bernini went to Paris in 1665, in what was his only
prolonged absence from Rome. The trip was made in
response to invitations that for many years had been
extended to him by King Louis XIV, and the purpose was
the design of a new French royal residence. By this time,
Bernini was so famous that crowds lined the streets of
each city along the route to watch him pass. His initial
reception in Paris was equally triumphant, but he soon
offended his sensitive hosts by imperiously praising the
art and architecture of Italy at the expense of that of
France. His statements made him unpopular at the
French court and were to some degree responsible for
the rejection of his designs for the Louvre. The only relic
of Bernini's visit to France is his great bust of Louis XIV,
a linear, vertical, and stable portrait, in which the Sun
King gazes out with godlike authority. The image set a
standard for royal portraits that lasted 100 years.
Epilogue
• Bernini died at the age of 81, after having served eight
popes, and when he died he was widely considered not
only Europe's greatest artist but also one of its greatest
men. He was the last of Italy's remarkable series of
universal geniuses, and the Baroque style he helped
create was the last Italian style to become an
international standard. His death marked the end of
Italy's artistic hegemony in Europe. The style he evolved
was carried on for two more generations in various parts
of Europe by the architects Mattia de' Rossi and Carlo
Fontana in Rome, J.B. Fischer von Erlach in Austria, and
the brothers Cosmas and Egid Quirin Asam in Bavaria,
among others.