Michelangelo and Bernini

Paper Summary:

This paper uses the works of Michelangelo's "David" and Bernini's "The Rape of Persephone" as representative creations for the Renaissance and the Baroque periods in Italian sculpture. This paper looks at the majestic expression of the characters, the dynamism of Bernini's work and the innovative techniques used in both, to illustrate how the sculptures stand out as masterpieces of innovative art.

From the Paper:

"Bernini is the most prominent sculptor of the Italian Baroque period. This statuary group is a very good exponent of his entire body of work as far as sculpture as it displays his impressive ability to handle marble and to create realistic images and tension - mimesis - as well as his skills in giving the impression of variegated color and in playing with strong light and dark contrasts. The statuary group illustrates the mythical episode of the abduction of Persephone, the daughter of the Roman god Ceres by Pluto, the god of the underworld. In Roman mythology Persephone represented the goddess of fertility and harvest. As the legend goes, Persephone's mother manages to convince Pluto to allow her daughter to spend half of the year on earth and the other half in Hades, Pluto's kingdom of the underworld. This is why, every spring, flowers blossom and natures comes alive to welcome young Persephone back to earth. The statue was executed by Italian sculptor Bernini between 1621 and 1622, more than a century after Michelangelo's David. It was commissioned as a gift from Cardinal Scipione to Cardinal Ludovisi. In fact, the statuary group remained in his villa until 1908 when the Italian state purchased it and gave it to the art collection of the Borghese Villa in Rome."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Addington Symonds, John. (2006). David. In: The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti. BiblioBazaar. 57-77.
• Huber, Lorraine G. The High Renaissance period 1495-1520. Available: <http://www.abstractloft.com/expressionist/artcrit.html>
• Johnson, Paul. (2003). The Roman Climax of Art and Its Confused Aftermath. In Art: A New History. Harper Collins. 273-310.
• Vasari, Giorgio. Michelangelo's David (1550 CE). In Paul Brians, Mary Gallwey, Douglas Hughes, Azfar Hussain, Richard Law, Michael Myers Michael Neville, Roger Schlesinger, Alice Spitzer, Susan Swan Reading About the World, Volume 1. Harcourt Brace Custom Publishing. Available: <http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/vasari.html>

More papers on Michelangelo and Bernini:

• Comparison Essay # 108633 : "Michelangelo's "Pieta" and Bernini's "Saint Teresa"
• Essay # 101248 : "Saint Peter and the Saint Peter's Basilica"
• Essay # 71865 : "The Biblical David"

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