Sculpture: Hard stone & Soft power: the Metamorphosis of Gian Lorenzo Bernini

The Western tradition of sculpturebegan in Greco-Roman times, in 800 BC, when artists moved away from creating purely devotional or functional objects towards an endeavour to capture the human body in materials that could withstand the test of time.

During the early modern period of the Baroque, appearances, and changes, inspired from the literary and artistic models of Antiquity, materialise in the sculptural works of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 – 1680).  His representations of living forms turn to the past, to celebrate the present and shape the future. They are so flawless and glorious, that they almost reach the divine. With unsurpassed skills, masterly techniques, and the symbolism they evoke, Bernini gives life to stone. He creates visual performances that are physical, but also psychological, and even ideological. In the political context of 17th century Rome, such revival of Greco-Roman myths, were a portent of Christian doctrines and secular rules.…