Art Sunday; Bernini

Bernini;

source of the Italian Baroque

 

Another one for Lina...........she always seemed very fond of Baroque and Bernini.

Bernini was a sculptor, painter and architect and a formative influence as an outstanding exponent of the Italian Baroque. He was an exceptional portrait artist and owes to his father his accomplished techniques in the handling of marble and also an impressive list of patrons that included the Borghese and the Barbarini families.

Bernini originally worked in the Late Mannerist tradition but rejected the contrived tendencies of this style. By 1624 he had adopted an expression that was passionate and full of emotional and psychological energy. His figures are caught in a transient moment from a single viewpoint, bursting into the spectator's space. In 1644 such interpretation reaches maturity in his rendition of the vision and Ecstasy of Saint Teresa.

The Spanish nun swoons in heavenly rapture at the point of an angel's arrow. The work is a prime example of Bernini's vision of a decorative whole combining different materials and colours within an architectural space.

A succession of powerful patrons in Rome and in Paris assured his reputation as an entrepreneurial artist who captured the spirit of the Counter-Reformation.

His extreme and intense characterizations have fallen in and out of favor but his Baroque legacy remains intact."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/bernini.html

The Baroque, a must for all art lovers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00j8bwk

Three-part series exploring the Baroque tradition in many of its key locations. Starting in Italy and following the spread of the wildfire across Europe and beyond, art critic Waldemar Januszczak takes us on a tour of the best examples of Baroque to be found, and tells the best stories behind those works.
He follows Baroque to its dark heart in Spain, focusing on the route of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and featuring star painters Velasquez, Caravaggio and Zurburan. He then carries on through Belgium and Holland to discover such celebrities as Rubens and Vermeer.

These three, one hour long programmes were on late tonight, starting at 11.00pm and going back to back until the last episode finishes at 3.00am. Sadly I have to go to bed………….if this were a weekend I would sit here glued to the TV until three in the morning. The good news is that all three programmes can be viewed any time over the next 7 days on the web-site. I’m not sure if this is viewable outside the UK, if it isn’t….. I’m truly sorry cos its worth spending the time to see.

Below is a short video of The Italian Baroque Sculptor, Painter and Architect Gianlorenzo Bernini and the Monks of St. Michael's.