Bernini Marble Sculptures

The influence of religion on art during the 16th and 17th centuries was a reflection of society at that time and bernini was an individual whose connection to catholicism was supremely strong meaning his inclusion of religious ideals and narratives was not something he simply did at the request of those commissioning his work he was.

Bernini marble sculptures. A perfect example of the way bernini combined sculpture and architecture it depicts the rapture of st teresa of avila at the moment when an angel pierces her heart with the golden arrow of divine love. This work displays bernini s technical brilliance and innovation in his manipulation of marble as the folds of teresa s robes rather than the controlled folds of classical sculptures are shown whirling around teresa contributing to the sense of movement. The story goes that she was taken by pluto who was the ruler of the underworld. Bernini s insistence that beauty should be found in observing humans and nature instead of studying classical statues or renaissance paintings was a move away from the traditional ways of creating work.

The following is a list of works of sculpture architecture and painting by the italian baroque artist gian lorenzo bernini the numbering follows rudolph wittkower s catalogue first published in 1955 in gian lorenzo bernini. The sculptor of the roman baroque. Bernini depicted david dressed in typical shepherd s attire with the armor of israel s king saul given to david for battle and his harp lying beneath. Bernini s sensual awareness of the surface textures of skin and hair and his novel sense of shading broke with the tradition of michelangelo and marked the emergence of a new period in.

These marble works show an unparalleled virtuosity in carving that obdurate material to achieve the delicate effects usually found only in bronze sculptures. Young woman with a unicorn raphael. It shows the abduction of proserpina an ancient roman goddess. The billowing robes and the golden light are typical of the artist s fusion of marble and gilt.

The rape of proserpina is another bernini sculpture made from marble sculpted between 1621 and 1622. Every time i m in rome i make a pilgrimage to the borghese to see it. A life size marble sculpture david is a portrait of the biblical david as he prepares to throw a stone that would defeat goliath. But on this trip a visit to see apollo and daphne isn t enough.

His progressive focus on human emotion and sensuality became important to later artists all the way up to the modernist period.