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| 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.
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| Rape of Proserpina, Borghese Gallery, Rome |
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| Rape of Proserpina |
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| Paulette Bonaparte |
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| David about to fire the slingshot |
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| Apollo and Daphne |
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| Four Rivers Fountain, Piaza Navona |
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| Piazza Navona |
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| Left Colonnade of Piazza San Pietro, Vatican |
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| St. Peter's Baldacchino |
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| Statue of St. Peter on the Piazza |
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| Right Colonnade |
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| St. Paul and Other Angels |
