Luigi Bernini

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Entrance to Villa Barbarigo at Valsanzibio, designed by Bernini Valsanzibio.jpg
Entrance to Villa Barbarigo at Valsanzibio, designed by Bernini

Luigi Bernini (1612, Rome - 22 December 1681, Rome) was an Italian engineer, architect, and sculptor. [1]

Contents

Life

The son of Pietro Bernini and his wife Angelica Galante, he was born after the couple moved to Rome in 1605. He trained in his elder brother Gian Lorenzo's workshop and assisted him on several works such as the Baldacchino of St Peter's and the 1626 angel for the high altar in Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio.

Works

Bernini designed the 7-hectare gardens of Valsanzibio, where visitors to the garden arrived by gondola to a doorway of sculptures within sculptures within sculptures. [2]

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<i>Bust of Costanza Bonarelli</i> Sculpture by Gianlorenzo Bernini

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<i>Damned Soul</i> (Bernini) Sculpture by Gianlorenzo Bernini

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<i>Blessed Soul</i> (Bernini) Bust by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

The Blessed Soul is a bust by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Executed around 1619, it is a pendant piece to the Damned Soul. Their original location was sacristy of the church of San Giacomo degli Spagnuoli, but they were then moved in the late 19th century, and then to the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See in Piazza di Spagna The set may have been inspired by prints by Karel van Mallery, although they were initially categorized as nymph and satyr.

<i>Equestrian statue of Louis XIV</i> (Bernini) Sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

The Equestrian Statue of King Louis XIV is a sculpture designed and partially executed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was originally brought to France to design a new facade of the Louvre, a portrait bust, and an equestrian statue. Bernini first discussed the project while in France in the mid-1660s, but it did not start until later in the decade, when back in Rome. It was not completed until 1684 and then shipped to Paris in 1685. Louis XIV of France was extremely unhappy with the end result and had it placed in a corner of the gardens of the royal palace at Versailles. Soon after, the sculpture was modified by François Girardon and altered into an equestrian sculpture of the ancient Roman hero Marcus Curtius.

<i>Raimondi Chapel</i> Chapel designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini

The Raimondi Chapel is a chapel within the church of San Pietro in Montorio, Rome, Italy. The chapel houses the tombs of two members of the Raimondi family, Francesco and Raimondo. Both the architectural and sculptural elements of the chapel were designed by the artist Gianlorenzo Bernini - it was one of Bernini's first works where the relationship between the sculpture and the architecture was considered as a whole. Elements of the sculptures were executed by other artists in Bernini's circle; Andrea Bolgi did the busts of the two Raimondi brothers and the accompanying putti. Niccolò Sale undertook the reliefs on the tombs, while Francesco Baratta did the larger relief in the central altar. Work on the chapel took place between 1638 and 1648.

References

  1. McPhee, Sarah (2002-01-01). Bernini and the Bell Towers: Architecture and Politics at the Vatican. Yale University Press. p. 42. ISBN   978-0-300-08982-0.
  2. Daddario, Will (2017-06-02). Baroque, Venice, Theatre, Philosophy. Springer. pp. 27–28. ISBN   978-3-319-49523-1.