Creator story
Surprising fact
In his Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Bernini carved marble so masterfully that the saint's flowing robes and swooning body seem made of soft flesh and cloth.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaBaroque
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) was the genius of the Italian Baroque, a sculptor, architect and showman who shaped the look of Rome. He made cold marble seem to breathe, weep and tremble with life.
Bernini defined Baroque sculpture and architecture; his St Peter's Square still gathers the world before the Vatican.
- Made marble appear to move, breathe and feel with astonishing realism.
- Designed the colonnade of St Peter's Square and much of Baroque Rome.
- Carved the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa and Apollo and Daphne.
Key works
Two works that open the world of Gian Lorenzo Bernini
These works make it easiest to see how the artist changed form, content, and the very way art could exist in culture.
1622
Apollo and Daphne
Apollo and Daphne reads as one of the anchor works of baroque, where Gian Lorenzo Bernini's visual voice becomes unmistakable.
1647
Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is a sculptural altarpiece group in white marble set in an elevated aedicule in the Cornaro Chapel of the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. It was designed and carved by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the leading sculptor of his day, who also designed the setting of the chapel in marble, stucco and paint.