Gian Lorenzo Bernini: A Guide to Bernini’s Life and Sculptures

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) was a master Italian sculptor who created the Baroque style of sculpture using movement, emotion, and detailed texture to bring his subjects to life.

In addition to being the most renowned sculptor of his lifetime, Bernini and his rival architect Francesco Borromini played a prominent role in the emergence of Baroque architecture. Bernini and Borromini both built numerous fountains, churches, monuments, and piazzas throughout Rome.

Bernini was the dominating sculptor of the Baroque period in Italy, and his sculptures and architectural projects set artistic standards for centuries.

• Early years: Bernini was born in Naples, Italy on December 7th, 1598 to mother Angelica Galante and father Pietro Bernini. Pietro was a sculptor himself and foresaw that his son's immense talent would lead him to become one of the best sculptors of his time. In 1606, eight-year-old Bernini moved to Rome with his family after the Pope invited Bernini's father Pietro to work on the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
• Papal commissions: Growing up in Rome—an epicenter for brilliant painters and sculptors—had a profound impact on Bernini's training and development as an artist. Word of Bernini's artistic prowess spread throughout Rome, and the influential and wealthy Cardinal Scipione Borghese took a strong liking to his early works. Through Cardinal Borghese's patronage, Bernini produced his first complete sculpture by himself, the Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun. Pope Paul V, who was Cardinal Borghese's uncle, was enamored with Bernini's work and became the first of eight Popes to hire Bernini. In 1623, Bernini's patron and friend Cardinal Maffeo Barberini was elected Pope Urban VIII, and the new Pope helped Bernini increase his influence in Rome not only as a sculpturist but as an urban planner and architect.
• Prominence: Despite objections from some more experienced architects, the Fabric di San Pietro appointed Bernini to the position of Chief Architect of St. Peter's Basilica in 1629. In 1642-1643, Bernini designed and constructed the Triton Fountain for the Piazza Barberini, which was the first time a sculptural fountain was constructed in a public urban setting.
• Private affairs: In the 1630s Bernini had an affair with his assistant Matteo Bonarelli's wife, Costanza Bonarelli. When Bernini learned that Costanza was also having an affair with his brother Luigi, Bernini almost beat his brother to death and commanded his servant to slash Costanza's face. Before Bernini and Costanza’s relationship came to an end, Bernini sculpted a marble portrait bust of her. At the time it was customary for sculptors to make formal portrait busts only for tombs. The Bust of Costanza Bonarelli played a large part in reinstating the Ancient Roman trend of producing informal portrait busts. In addition, art historians believe that the Bust of Costanza Bonarelli was the first uncommissioned bust made by a sculptor purely for the sculptor’s own pleasure.
• Later years: In 1665 Bernini traveled to Paris at the request of King Louis XIV to help design the Louvre Palace, but the King rejected his designs. It's believed that the two men formed a contemptuous relationship during Bernini's six-month stay in France. After his return to Rome, Bernini kept working to restore beauty and glory to Roman architecture throughout the tenures of Pope Alexander VII and Pope Clement IX. The sculptural Tomb of Pope Alexander VII monument, which Bernini completed in 1678, was Bernini's last significant sculptural commission before his death in 1881 at age 81.

Bernini helped to shape the Baroque style of sculpture. Here are six characteristics that define his works:

1. 1. Speaking likeness: This concept refers to Bernini's tendency to portray his subjects mid-action or mid-sentence. He insisted that capturing a person in this manner was more truthful and intimate than a static pose.
2. 2. In the round: Bernini intended his sculpture works to be viewed from all directions, making it easier to tell a story with his work. For example, in Apollo and Daphne, Daphne appears normal from the front, but when you walk around to her backside, you see leaves and roots emerging from her body depicting her transformation into a tree.
3. 3. Movement: All of Bernini's works contain dynamic energy and the illusion of movement. From the contorting bodies in many of his human sculpture subjects to the curves and spirals in his architectural designs, nothing appears completely still.
4. 4. Mixed mediums: Bernini’s pieces often featured a mix of sculpture, painting, and architecture to create a wholly original work of art.
5. 5. Texture: Bernini utilized texture to evoke his desired sense of realism. He was a master at depicting the flexibility of skin, flowing whirls of fabric, and bouncing locks of hair.
6. 6. Realism: Instead of spawning ideas from earlier Renaissance-era paintings and Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, Bernini developed his sculpting proficiency by observing real people, places, and objects in the world around him.

The following works of art exemplify the characteristics that made Bernini a master of marble and are essential pieces to study for anyone learning about Bernini's oeuvre.

1. 1. The Rape of Proserpina (1621-1622): This sculpture is a wonderful example of Bernini's inclination to portray "frozen in time" mid-action moments. Bernini's sculpture displays Pluto dragging his unrequited love, the goddess Proserpina, to the underworld as Hades' three-headed dog Cerberus looks on.
2. 2. Apollo and Daphne (1622-1625): In this work, Bernini depicts a scene from the Roman poet Ovid's The Metamorphoses, where the god Apollo pursues the river nymph Daphne after Cupid hits Apollo with a love arrow. To escape Apollo's advances, Daphne requests help from the river gods and they transform her into a laurel tree. Bernini's marble work masterfully captures Daphne mid-transformation.
3. 3. David (1623-1624): The biblical figure David was a favorite subject among several Renaissance artists, but Bernini's approach to sculpting David depicts him the moment immediately before slaying Goliath. Instead of standing up straight, Bernini's David is twisted back, his hands gripping the sling to launch the stone that will kill the giant.
4. 4. St. Peter's Baldachin (1623-1634): Pope Urban VIII commissioned Bernini to build this large bronze canopy inside of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The canopy, decorated to symbolize Christ's redemption, sits atop four spiraling columns. St. Peter's Baldachin is located over the church's high altar and underneath the Michelangelo-designed dome of the Basilica, and helped cement Bernini's status as the most distinguished sculptor in Rome.
5. 5. The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-1652): Regarded as one of Bernini's greatest pieces during his late period, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is the center of attention inside the Cornaro Chapel in Rome. Bernini's sculpture shows Spanish nun Teresa of Avila experiencing a mystical encounter with an angel. It's one of Bernini's most elaborate works—sculpture, decoration, light, and paint, all play a prominent role in its complete form.

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