Blog Post #3 Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Gian Lorenzo was an Italian sculptor and architect who was known as being one of the greatest artists of the Baroque period and instead of painting, was credited with creating the Baroque Style of sculpture. However, he did paint in oil occasionally. Like many artists before and after him, he was inspired and given the incentive to do art by his own sculptor Father Pietro. He worked hard and eagerly honed his talent which gained him both the praise of other artistic icons such as Annibale Carracci as well as the patronage of Pope Paul V. Eventually, he was named the Official Architect of Saint Peters and sculpted many religious subjects. His work clearly harks back to the era of High Renaissance after his study of Michaelangelo and antique Greek and Roman marbles. Lorenzo, however, was able to culminate his own style which displayed a keen sense of observation n realism. The sculpture “David” in particular, differentiates itself from Michaelangelo’s version in the dynamic pose, showing the way a body twists as well as how head is stationed relative to the body. It also showed the awareness the artists had on textures of the skin and hair which contrasted against Michaelangelos which was indeed lifelike but too smooth. This even went for fabrics and clothes as well which would look more rough and fine looking.