Baroque
Apollo and Daphne is
a sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione
Borghese at the beginning of Bernini's career. The statue depicts Phoebus
(Apollo), pursuing Daphne, the daughter of Peneus, who denied the love of men.
This statue is captivating, the flowing movement of their bodies, the curves
and features of their lithe movements, the details of their bodies and their
curves adding to the passion of the pursuit. It makes me feel like I glimpsed a
moment in ancient history of the gods. I wish the statue had color to it, but
the solid white makes it seem like a ghost of a memory of times past. The
energy, movement, the flowing diagonal movements of their bodies, the intensity
and the feeling that you're glimpsing a moment in time are all indicators of
the Baroque art style. (Harris and Zucker)
Bernini was greatly influenced by royalty since they commissioned much of his work. Many marble statues were commissioned by
Cardinal Scipione Borghese for his villa in Rome. Bernini was also called to
France by King Louis XIV to work on the Palace of the Louvre. Pope Urban VIII
commissioned Bernini for Saint Peter's, an enormous marble bronze statue.
(White)
I would love to own statues like this if I had a fancy
house with a garden area and fountains. I wouldn’t want something like this in
my house, but having statues from different eras in the backyard would be cool. Each one would have a placard detailing the work and its history
as you walk through.
The differences between Baroque and Renaissance are interesting
when the works are juxtaposed. The Renaissance era reminds me of photographs taken in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s of families on the frontier. There are hardly any facial expressions, the body posture is vertical and
lifeless. The Renaissance has way more colors and textures, though. Compare these
to the Baroque era of diagonal, flowing, and midstride movement. The curves and details of their bodies, muscles, and facial expressions are so much greater than in the Renaissance. The Baroque style breathes life into the art, living,
breathing life.
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker,
"How to recognize Baroque art," in Smarthistory, May
10, 2016, accessed June 27, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/how-to-recognize-baroque-art/.
Smarthistory – How to recognize Baroque art
White, Veronica. “Gian Lorenzo Bernini
(1598–1680).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bern/hd_bern.htm
(October 2003)
I wish the statues had color too! I'm not sure if its a myth or not, but I've heard majority of statues from the Renaissance were painted but over the years the paint wore off. It makes you wonder why they would've chose marble to carve, maybe because the white made a good canvas? Defiantly something to look into! How artists like Bernini were able to take a solid rock, carve it, and give it shape and "movement" is beyond amazing. It really gives the Baroque style we're studying.
ReplyDeleteThe movement within the statues is truly fascinating. It feels as though the moment we are looking at is stuck in time. Your suggestion about adding color to the statue was an amazing idea. I feel like it could bring out so much more emotion. Your backyard of statues also sounds like a real fun idea. It would definitely catch some eyes. The passion that went into the Barquoe style art to replicate that sense of life is so recognizable.
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