Welcome to the third post for my “When in Rome” Blog Series! Today’s post features a real historical figure who appears in my #amquerying Historical Fiction novel! You can find out more about that here. Thanks for reading!

Rare indeed is the artist whose very name seems to define an era. But such is the case with Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), the sculptor, painter and architect whose legacy is as synonymous with the Baroque period in Europe as is that of Louis XIV. Rome may not have been built by one man, nor in one day – but Bernini built a great deal of it in the several decades he called Rome his home.

Youth and Early Career

One of Rome’s greatest figures was not born in the Eternal City at all. Rather, the prodigy who would come to define Rome’s Baroque style was born at the end of the 16^th century in Naples. His father Pietro was also a gifted sculptor and apprenticed his son in the craft (a typical arrangement for tradesmen in the early modern era).[1] The Bernini family relocated to Rome to support Pietro’s career in 1606.

Rome in the 17^th century was the perfect environment for the young Gian Lorenzo. During these years, the papacy was thick in the fight against Protestantism throughout continent, waging its own Counter-Reformation amid the European religious wars. A succession of popes saw Rome as the homestead of the “true faith” and thus the beating heart of Christianity. The Baroque-era Vatican invested in the arts, especially sculpture and architecture, as a means to beautify and elevate Rome as a beacon to the faithful while showcasing the glory, prestige and awe-inspiring majesty of Catholicism. A European artist of this era could hope for no greater connection, nor patron, than the Roman papacy.

The young Bernini took full advantage of the opportunity before him; by the end of his life, he ultimately served eight different popes through his artistic faculties.[2] By his early twenties, he was already an established sculptor in his own right and taking independent commissions. Under the patronage of Scipione Cardinal Borghese, Bernini created his first “sculptural groups” or collections of sculptures that are structurally or thematically related. His Apollo and Daphne is one of the most famous and brilliant examples of his early work and showcases the free-flowing movement, beauty and dynamism that would become his trademark. Bernini’s unprecedented ability to show realism in skin tone, texture and shade through marble stone represented a new achievement in Western sculpture.[3]

Architect to St. Peter’s

But Bernini was not content with changing the world of sculpture as it was then known; his plans became far greater and ambitious on a scale to match Rome itself. The rise of Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644) was a key development for Bernini as the newly minted Holy Father encouraged the young sculptor to apply his talents to Vatican architecture. One of Bernini’s most famous pieces from this period is one that any visitor to St. Peter’s Basilica will instantly recognize: the baldachin.

The gilt-bronze baldachin above St. Peter’s tomb was completed in 1633. It stands at nearly 100 feet tall, its four legs crafted as elegant spiraling twists leading up to the imposing canopy overhead. This astonishing feat made Bernini one of the most sought-after and influential artists in a city teeming with them. Bernini was soon designated as the “architect of St. Peter’s”, and he would go on to conduct extensive renovations of the basilica itself throughout the next several years. His career was only temporarily dented in 1646 when two of his newly added bell towers were ignominiously removed when one showed signs of cracking.[4]

That incident aside, Bernini spent the next decades refining his architectural technique in what became known as bel composto or “beautiful whole”. Bernini was among the first artists to emphasize spatial awareness, particularly in lighting, in the framing of a given sculpture, feature or even a building. In this sense, Bernini’s work unified multiple artistic disciplines together to emotionally engage the viewer.

Perhaps the pinnacle of this technique in Bernini’s work is found in his most famous sculpture The Ecstasy of St. Theresa. The statue is located in the Cornaro Chapel of Santa Maria della Vittoria and retells the mystical story of the St. Theresa, who claimed that an angel in a dream had pierced her heart with a flaming arrow. Around the central figures of the sculpture are members of the Cornaro family themselves in acts of worship. One analysis thus argues that “[t]hrough the bel composto and visual constructs influenced by theatrical elements, the audience is persuaded to mirror the appropriate behavior of the Cornaro family, who act as both performance and audience members.”[5] The overall effect was, and remains, astonishing to those lucky enough to view this particular masterpiece.

St. Peter’s Square

As his reputation soared, Bernini and his team took on ever greater projects even as he approached his 60s (an advanced age for a man of his era). In 1656, he began the most expansive project of his career thus far: the renovation of St. Peter’s Square outside the basilica. Bernini was tasked with designing, then executing, a historic upgrade to the entire space.

He ultimately constructed the circular, quadruple colonnade for which the piazza is now famous. The “arms” of the colonnades were rendered to draw the worshiper ever closer to the holy church itself in what Bernini himself described as an embrace by the Catholic church.[6] The Vatican obelisk, which had been present on the site since the 1580s, was used to form the center of the new ovular design. Bernini’s work on St. Peter’s Square proved a resounding success, such the site remains monumental throughout the world, accommodating millions of visitors every year. The renovated piazza was both beautiful and functional, and ideally suited to a Roman papacy that was intent on showcasing its authority to both its parishioners and its enemies alike.

Secrets to Success?

Although Bernini would briefly sojourn in France at the request of Louis XIV, he ultimately found his way back to Rome where he passed away in 1680 at 81 years old. Even into his twilight years, Bernini continued to push the boundaries of multiple art forms and produce original works for his endless list of patrons. One source notes that “[h]e was the last of Italy’s remarkable series of universal geniuses, and the Baroque style he helped create was the last Italian style to become an international standard.”[7]

How Bernini succeeded so profoundly in the hyper-competitive art world of Baroque Italy (for he was not without challengers) raises the question of why he came to dominate this era. The historical record suggests that, in many respects, Bernini was the perfect “man for the job” to serve the Roman papacy in the 17^th century. Bernini was not just brilliant and prodigiously gifted; he was also committed to the cause. Sources note that Bernini believed firmly in the divine calling of the Roman church, and was himself fastidious in daily Mass attendance.[8] He also reportedly believed in Rome itself, particularly the city’s destiny as a leading light of the world. He viewed himself as instrumental to that destiny through the arts.

Similar characteristics could be found in other great artists throughout history, but Bernini’s qualifications went much deeper. Bernini was reportedly a superb manager (a quality that can be said of fairly few great artists), particularly of his assistants and apprentices. His careful leadership ensured that his teams only produced work worthy of his personal legacy.[9] He was also personable; though he could be prone to outbursts, he generally displayed great wit and “affable character” and enjoyed deep friendships with his many patrons.[10]

Perhaps most importantly, Bernini was endlessly inventive. While “growth mindset” is a trendy buzzword of the 21^st century, Bernini actively lived out its precepts nearly four centuries ago. In addition to his astounding achievements in sculpture and architecture, Bernini was also an accomplished painter (his own self-portraits survive today) and even worked in theatrical design, writing and directing.[11] Bernini was infamous for pushing his own knowledge and his technical skills to new heights, and constantly reapplying his gifts to new mediums. He thrived on challenge, always seeking to craft ever more awe-inspiring works than those which had come before. Bernini was said to continually compare himself with the great Michelangelo (a prospect which would terrify a lesser artist) and encourage his admirers and contemporary biographers to do the same.

These characteristics, perhaps more than any others, are what made Bernini himself as iconic as any of his extant works. As he hoped, his legacy has endured just as strongly as his many accomplishments across the centuries. Rarely has any city, let alone one as ancient as the Eternal City, owed so much of its evolution and character to a single person. For Rome, that person is undoubtedly Bernini.

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[1] National Gallery of Art, “Gian Lorenzo Bernini,” https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.2025.html.

[2] Howard Hibbard, “Gian Lorenzo Bernini,” Encyclopedia Brittanica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gian-Lorenzo-Bernini.

[3] Ibid.

[4] National Gallery of Art, ibid.

[5] Samantha Landre, “The Bel Composto in Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Cornaro Chapel” (2015), Theses and Dissertations, 1008, https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1008

[6] Hibbard, ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Arthur Lubow, “Bernini’s Genius”, Smithsonian Magazine, October 2008, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/berninis-genius-11934809/.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Veronica White, “Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680),” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2003, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bern/hd_bern.htm.

[11] National Gallery of Art, ibid.