Gian Lorenzo Bernini - "Unity of the Visual Arts"
Dublin Core
Title
Gian Lorenzo Bernini - "Unity of the Visual Arts"
Description
As a renowned sculptor, architect, and painter, Bernini fused all three media in several of his works. Art historian Irving Lavin published the book "Bernini and the Unity of Visual Arts" exploring in depth Bernini's synthesis of the media. Through my project, I will explore works of Bernini's to validate Lavin's widely known thesis. In addition to looking at works that more explicitly combine sculpture, architecture, and painting, I will look at individual works that show how Bernini looked beyond any norms and constraints of a medium. For example, through an analysis of his busts, we see how Bernini captured motion in a way that was previously restricted to paintings. Through this analysis of Bernini's more implicit methods of fusing media, I will endorse the term of Bernini's "Unity of Visual Arts".
Contributor
Meena Gudapati
Collection Items
Damned Soul
Damned Soul, a marble bust created by Bernini in 1619, depicts a male face with a twisted, painful expression [1]. The eyebrows are deeply arched, the mouth is open revealing a full set of teeth, and the head faces the left as if looking away at…
Blessed Soul
The marble bust Blessed Soul, or Anima Beata, was created in 1619 along with Damned Soul when Bernini was only 20. The piece is thought to have been commissioned by Cardinal Pedro Foix de Montoya [1]. The bust depicts a woman looking up toward heaven…
David
Bernini’s sculpture, David, was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese for the Borghese Gallery. The sculpture was done in marble over the course of seven months spanning 1623 to 1624 [1].
In the life size sculpture, David is rotating his body…
In the life size sculpture, David is rotating his body…
David Slaying Goliath
Peter Paul Rubens’ painting, David Slaying Goliath, was painted in oil on a 122.9 x 99.1cm canvas in 1616 [1]. In the painting, Rubens captures the moment where David has over powered Goliath, pushing him to the ground with his foot. David reaches…
Boy with a Basket of Fruit
Caravaggios painting, Boy with a Basket of Fruit, is dated to early in his career from roughly 1593 to 1595. The painting is done in oil on a 70 by 67 cm canvas, and is a part of the Galleria Borghese in Rome [1]. Caravaggio created the painting…
Bust of a Nobleman in Armour
Sculptor Giovacchino Fortini carved Bust of a Nobleman in Armour in 1700. The bust is done in white marble, and currently belongs to a private collection [1].
Fortini, a Florentine sculptor, was renowned for his busts that marked a design shift…
Fortini, a Florentine sculptor, was renowned for his busts that marked a design shift…
Self-Portrait as a Young Man
Bernini’s Self-Portrait as a Young Man, painted in 1623 at the young age of 25, is done in oil paint on a 38 cm by 30 cm canvas. The painting is in the Galleria Borghese in Rome as a part of the collection of Scipione Borghese [1].
The portrait,…
The portrait,…
Cornaro Chapel
The construction of the Cornaro Chapel took place from 1647 to 1652 at the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. The project was comissioned by Frederigo Cornaro, the Cardinal of Venice to honor both himself, family members, and a saint. The chapel was…
Comparison of David's pose
See collection entries for Bernini's David, Michelangelo's David, and Rubens' David and Goliath for information on each image.