Gianlorenzo Bernini

I was re-organising some of my books (hence the last post), when I came across a little book I bought from a church in Rome on the topic of Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), the great Baroque sculpter and architect (and to a lesser extent, painter) . Considering that Bernini was the artist who has had the greatest effect on Rome and The Vatican (he designed the colonnade in St. Peter's Sq), it's surprising to think that he'd been out of favour until relatively recently. This was probably due to the works being constructed in a way so as to elicit visceral *WOW!* responses from the viewer, meaning that a lot of them have overt emotions, such as St. Longinus (St. Peter's - above). This photo doesn't really do it justice, but when you're standing right in front of Longinus and the light hits it just so, you get a sense of action from the way the sculpture has his head thrown back and arms stretched out...there's a real moment of awe.

Recognised as a child prodigy, he produced four masterpieces, Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius, The Rape of Proserpine, Apollo and Daphne, and David before the age of 30. All of these sculptures are at the Galleria Borghese (left - you're not allowed to take photos inside), and while there's some debate about whether their positioning in their respective rooms alters the meaning of the works, their *wow* factor can't be denied. Take a care to walk around them slowly and examine the finer details that show how great Bernini was at making marble look like fingers digging into soft flesh (Proserpine), or his ability to carve the stone so finely that you can see light shining through it (Apollo). I can't remember how much I paid to get into the Galleria Borghese, but I DO remember it was kind of troublesome because they limit the number of ppl who can be inside at a given time so you have to book a time rather than just show up. Regardless, I think the gallery is worth it because it's chock-full of fantastic art - there's about 5 Caravaggios, a few Titians and a great Raphael painting.

Perhaps Bernini's most famous work is The Cornaro Chapel featuring the sculpture The Ecstasy of St. Teresa (Santa Maria della Vittoria - right). The chapel was commissioned during one of the few times when Bernini was out of papal favour, so the church of Santa Maria is kind of small and dark and unassuming. There's a bit of a shock when you walk inside and see to the left a chapel with a huge sculpture in the middle and riotiously colourful marble. Bernini liked to play with the lighting of his sculptures to maximise the effect, and although the lighting of Teresa has been kinda wrecked by the installation of electric lights, you can still see the glow that you get from the golden bars (there's a hidden window just above them) reflecting onto the faces of the angel and Teresa. The angel is all round cheeks and curls, while the saint with her half-closed eyes and open mouth looks like she's had the best gelati ever. And then when you look up, you see the troemp l'oeil painting of heavenly light, angels and clouds billowing into the chapel - its fantastic. (The painting was from a design of Bernini's but executed by a collaborator. His name eludes me right now).

There are some other great works from Bernini such as his bust of Pope Innocent X (Galleria Doria-Pamphilj - get the audio tour, Prince Jonathan has a really sexy voice) and the Fountain of the Four Rivers (Piazza Navona - there's a famous gelati shop nearby!) that must be seen. But there are two particular works of his that you can see for free in Rome showing that while Bernini excelled at producing the big showpieces, his works could also be whimsical. In the Piazza di Spagna near the Spanish steps is a fountain where the centrepiece is a sunken boat (above left). Apparently the fountain site had a problem with water pressure, and the idea of a sunken boat was a solution to having a centrepiece that would have water coming out if it - hehehehe. And in the Piazza della Minerva, a little elephant supports a genuine Egyptian obelisk (right). That elephant is so cute, if it wasnt 350 years old I would have given its head a little rub.