Friends, doing so much Art over the summer gives one plenty of time to mentally wander over your heroes, be they Michelangelo or his superior in marble, Bernini!
SA国际影视传媒� Cold, unforgiving marble was as butter in the hands of this Italian sculptor SA国际影视传媒�
Within the pre-eminent stone palace of worship, the largest in the entire World, Saint PeterSA国际影视传媒檚 Basilica in RomeSA国际影视传媒檚 Vatican, Gian Lorenzo BerniniSA国际影视传媒檚 stupendous BaldacchinoSA国际影视传媒檚 four massive bronze columns spiral some 30 metres (90 feet) to a suspended canopy, eternal guard under the divine MichelangeloSA国际影视传媒檚 majestic dome SA国际影视传媒� hovering over the tomb of St. Peter, far below
Not only could this Italian post-Renaissance Man humble a viewer, SA国际影视传媒�
As this churchSA国际影视传媒檚 chief architect MichelangeloSA国际影视传媒檚 spacious square directly out front even now regularly and easily makes room for half-a-million pilgrims, whilst creating its own spectacle for audiences worldwide.
His Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, begun in the late 1640s, fairly dazzles the very mindSA国际影视传媒檚 eye, proclaiming a devout heart of faith in all manner godly.
A decidedly gleeful angel of God readies an arrow, yet again, poised to pierce the prostrate Spanish nun, herself in the throes of communion with heavenly forces.
The setting, too, displays BerniniSA国际影视传媒檚 architectural genius for first-ever combining the varied Baroque era disciplines of sculpture, architecture and painting, set as it is in the dark recesses of the Raimondi Chapel in the church of San Pietro, in Montoro.
From somewhere high above thin golden shafts miraculously carry light to illumine the two figures caught in action, fairly afloat upon thine supine gaze.
Another, The Damned Soul, portrays the last terrified human expression of a soul about to be cast into the fires of Hades, a look of both utter disbelief and horror at a past forever questioned and a future encased in doom!
Over his 81 years and before passing in 1680, Bernini left a lasting legacy of creative wonders, a number of memorable fountains SA国际影视传媒� and not the least being Apollo and Daphne, at the very moment she transforms into a tree.
SA国际影视传媒� too, this sculptorSA国际影视传媒檚 David is a study of strength held in check, SA国际影视传媒� a boy about to unleash upon the giant Goliath, grim in determination, power secured.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini had a distinct knack for capturing the exact most dramatic moment in a sculpture.
Witness the started expression on Greek god ApolloSA国际影视传媒檚 face when he realizes that the chaste lady he pursues, Daphne, is turning into a laurel tree just as he catches her, with fingers and hair becoming leaves and sides a tree trunk SA国际影视传媒� feet taking root. Surely it is this timeless, effervescent quality which sparkles so in this masterSA国际影视传媒檚 work.
