Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) is considered one of the most inspiring and influential

sculptors, architects, and draftsmen of the Baroque period. This aesthetic movement
affected all disciplines ranging from painting, sculpture, and architecture to theater and
music. It was a style of magnificence and richness which spread from its origins in Rome
and Paris to the outer reaches of Europe and beyond. The origins of the style can be traced
back to Papal Rome in the early part of the seventeenth century and to the great triad of
Baroque’s pioneers: Bernini, Francesco Borromini, and Pietry da Cortona. Their works
established the principal characteristics of the style. Mainly concerned with performance,
their buildings and works of art became infused with vigor and movement.
The Baroque combined the arts to engage the viewer through all their senses.
Sculpted figures, such as Bernini’s, seemed to be captured mid-action and in an emotional
appeal to the beholder. Rather than being an observer of a static work of art, the beholder
thus became a participant in a dramatic event. Bernini aptly achieved this sense of theater
in many of his pieces, including the Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) (Fig.1). Bernini, as a
young child, dazzled his way to his first Papal support with Pope Paul V, who reportedly
declared, "We hope that this youth will become the Michelangelo of his century"1. Over a
long lifetime, Bernini undertook commissions for eight popes, transforming the look of
seventeenth century Rome as Michelangelo had helped shape Florence and Rome a century

1For more information on Bernini’s other works and papal support: Lu Bow, Arthur. “Bernini's
Genius”. Smithsonian. Vol39 no7; pg76-80, 81-3 (Oct 2008).
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