Gianlorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist born December 7,1598 in Naples he is considered the greatest sculptor and architect of the 17th century.Bernini created the Baroque style of sculpture and in my opinion definitely mastered this style above any one who may have even attempted before or after his era. Bernini's career began under his father, Pietro Bernini, a Florentine sculptor with some talent nothing in comaparison to Gianlorenzo who moved to Rome.Bernini, “a young prodigy“, soon established himself as a independent sculptor. He was strongly influenced by his studies of antique greek and roman marbles in the Vatican, and he waa also very knowledgable of High Renaissance paintings of the early 16th century. The early works of Gianlorenzo caught the attention of Annibale Carracci, Pope Paul V, Scipione Cardinal Borghese, a member of the reigning papal family, and Pope Urban VIII who turned out to be his greatest patron. While Bernini was under Scipione Cardinal Borghese patronage he carved what is known as his first important life-size sculptural which was in groups like a series that showcased his work in levels of progression. The series begins with Bernini scupltures at a single view of Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius Fleeing Troy in 1619 next is Pluto and Proserpina 1621 to 1622 which was a bit more adavnced than the previous sculpture then the hallucinatory vision of Apollo and Daphne which had taken him two years to complete 1622 to 1624 it was created to only be views from one position which was meant to be some form of relief. His infamous David 1623 to 1624 sculpting depicts the figure casting a stone as an unseen adversary. Bernini’s sensual awareness of the surface with the skin and hair and his sense of shading and the lighting broke with the tradition of Michelangelo which is yet another reason he is considered his sucessor. Now that Bernini has sucessfully made it on scene he is now under the patronage of Urban VIII 1624 to 1644 his work only better. Bernini entered this period with high productivity and much artistic development that earnwd him the title of greatest sculpture and architect. Urban VIII urged Bernini to paint and practice architecture. His first architectural work was the remodeled Church of Santa Bibiana in Rome. At the same time, he was told to build a symbolic structure over the tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The result is the famous gilt-bronze baldachin created between 1624 and 1633. Its unique columns show early Christian columns that had been used in the altar screen of Old St. Peter’s. Bernini’s most original contribution to the final work is the upper framework of crowning volutes flanked by four angels that supports cross. The baldachin is perfectly proportioned and most people hardly ever realize the fact that it is as tall as a four-story building. The outline moving upward to the crown, its dark color with burning gold, most people say those detailed characteristics makes it look like a living organism. The Baldachin is viewed as the first official Baroque monument of this new era Gianlorenzo was responsible for starting. It ultimately formed the center of decoration designed by Bernini for the interior of St. Peter’s. Bernini's next order of business was to supervise the decor of the four piers that support the dome of St.Peter's. Bernini’s architectural work load increased after the death of Carlo Maderno in 1629 when Bernini became architect of St. Peter’s and of the Palazzo Barberini. By this time he was not only executing works himself but also having to rely on assistance from others as the number of requests for his art grew. He was successful in organizing his studio and planning his work so that sculptures produced by his team actually seem to be one piece and flow together. Bernini’s sculptures have always been shapedby his fervent Roman Catholicism he attended mass every day and took communion twice a week so very involved he was. Bernini always felt that religious art should always be intelligible and realistic, and, above all, it should serve as an emotional stimulus to piety. The development of Bernini’s religious art was largely determined by his efforts to conform to those principles.Under Urban VIII Bernini began to produce new and different kinds of monuments and fountains. The tomb of Urban VIII 1628 to 1647shows the pope seated with his arm raised in a commanding gesture and underneath him are two white marble figures representing the Virtues. Obviously his fountains are the biggest contribution to Rome. The Triton Fountain in the Piazza Barberini 1642 to 1643 it appears to become alive. Four dolphins raise a huge shell supporting the sea god, who blows water out of a shell Bernini’s early architectural projects were not all perfect. Unfortunately 1646, the weight of some o his work started to crack the building, they were taken down, and Bernini was temporarily disgraced. Now this next stage in Gianlorenzo Bernini was by far the most significant for his public monuments. While under the patronage of innocent X and Alexander VII from 1640's to the 1660's The Fountain of the Four Rivers in Rome’s Piazza Navona 1648 to 1651 This fountain is one of his most spectacular works and was the favorite ornamental device of the Baroque era. Next is Bernini Cornaro Chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria, in Rome, which completes the evolution begun early in his career. The chapel was commissioned by Federigo Cardinal Cornaro, is small church. Its focal point is his sculpture of The Ecstasy of St. Teresa 1645 to 1652 a depiction of a mystical experience of the great Spanish Carmelite reformer Teresa of Ávila. In representing Teresa’s vision where a angel shot her heart with a fiery arrow of divine love, Bernini followed Teresa’s own description of the event to a perfect T. The Cornaro Chapel carries Bernini’s ideal of a three-dimensional picture to its apex.One of the most impressive of his work is Sant’Andrea al Quirinale 1658 to 1670 in Rome as well with its dramatic high altar, and dome. Bernini’s greatest architectural achievement is the colonnade enclosing the piazza before St. Peter’s Basilica. The chief function of the large space was to hold the crowd that gathered for the papal benediction on Easter and other special occasions. Bernini made a huge oval attached to the church by a trapezoid court that he compared to the encircling arms of the mother church. While Gianlorenzo Bernini served eight different Popes through out his lifetime he also painted, wrote plays, and designed metalwork and stage sets. Bernini died at the age of 81 he had set such high standards that none of his later work really was astonishing. Of all the icons we studied this semester his work stood out by far i was truly intrigued by his art and felt he was one of the most interesting people we covered prior to learning about him every time i seen a fountain i always thought man i know those things must cost a fortune i wonder who created these and now i have lots of insight on Berinini

1.Gloria K. Fiero sixth edition The Humanistic Traditon book 4

2. Charles Avery. Bernini: Genius of the Baroque. Thames & Hudson. 2006. 287pp.

3. George C. Bauer. Bernini in Perspective. Prentice-Hall. 1976. 140pp.

4. Giovanni Careri. Translated by Linda Lappin. Bernini: Flights of Love, the Art of Devotion. University of Chicago Press. 1995. 118pp.

5. Sarah McPhee. Bernini and the Bell Towers: Architecture and Politics at the Vatican. Yale University Press. 2002. 353pp.

6.Franco Mormando. Bernini: His Life and His Rome. University of Chicago Press. 2011. 429pp.

7. Jake Morrissey. The Genius in the Design: Bernini, Borromini, and the Rivalry That Transformed Rome. HarperCollins. 2005. 320pp.

8. Shelley Karen Perlove. Bernini and the Idealization of Death: The Blessed Ludovica Albertoni and the Altieri Chapel. Penn State Press. 1990.

9. Robert Torsten Petersson. Bernini and the Excesses of Art. Fordham University Press. 2002. 150pp.

10.www.encyclopedia.com