The Art of Gian Lorenzo Bernini

St. Peter's Baldacchino, Cathedra Pietri and Gloria

An odd confluence of sightseeing choices exposed me to many works of Bernini and what a wonderful experience it turned out to be! Bernini was the architect responsible for creating the vast piazza with its perfectly aligned colonnades of St. Peter's Basilica and much of its interior decoration including the Baldacchino, Cathedra Pietri and Gloria. He was also the principal architect of Piazza Navona. His sculptural masterpieces were renowned for their multi-dimensionality, dramatic tension and psychological intensity. Many of his sculptures (Rape of Proserpina, Apollo and Daphne and David) focused on that single dramatic moment when a major action is about to happen-in the Rape of Proserpina, it is when Persephone is grabbed by Pluto and we are witness to Persephone's resistance and despair and to Pluto's very ungodly and unattractive mien. In Apollo and Daphne, it is exactly at the point when leaves begin to sprout from Daphne's feet as she turns into a tree to escape Apollo's clutches.  I am posting here photos of some of these great art. Enjoy.

Rape of Proserpina, Borghese Gallery, Rome

Rape of Proserpina

Paulette Bonaparte

David about to fire the slingshot

Apollo and Daphne

Four Rivers Fountain, Piaza Navona

Piazza Navona

Left Colonnade of Piazza San Pietro, Vatican

St. Peter's Baldacchino

Statue of St. Peter on the Piazza

Right Colonnade 

St. Paul and Other Angels