Gian Lorenzo Bernini Self-researched
Born: 1598, Naples Died: 1680, Rome Source: self-research
Italian sculptor, architect, painter and city planner. Credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. A uomo universale (Renaissance man) who was the leading sculptor of his age. His early works at the Galleria Borghese were commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese.
Artworks
Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius Self-researched
A sculpture depicting a scene from Virgil's Aeneid, where the hero Aeneas leads his family from burning Troy, carrying his aged father Anchises on his shoulders while his young son Ascanius follows.
The Rape of Proserpina Self-researched
A large Baroque marble group depicting the abduction of Proserpina by Pluto. Completed when Bernini was just 23, it features remarkable technical virtuosity in rendering flesh and movement in marble, with Pluto's fingers pressing into Proserpina's thigh.
Apollo and Daphne Self-researched
A life-sized marble sculpture depicting the climax of the myth from Ovid's Metamorphoses, where the nymph Daphne escapes Apollo's advances by transforming into a laurel tree. Regarded as one of the artistic marvels of the Baroque age.
David Self-researched
A life-size marble sculpture commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Unlike Michelangelo's contemplative David, Bernini captures the biblical hero in dynamic action, mid-throw with his sling.
