Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680)Preeminent Baroque sculptor Gain Lorenzo Bernini lived in 17th-century Rome. Bernini's Baroque style was a powerful influence on the architecture of his time. In addition to his sculptures, Bernini's works include the colonnades of St. Peters, the fade of Barberini's palace, and the design for three churches.
Bernini's many sculptural masterpieces include The Rape of Proserpina, which displays extreme attention to detail; even the woman's marble skin shows dimpling. Apollo and Daphne, widely admired since Bernini's day, expresses drama and also a conceit.
Bernini was also an accomplished architect, having been commissioned to create the piazza, colonnades and high alter of St. Peters Basilica in Rome, its centerpiece being the Dove of Peace. Being a fervent Romantic Catholic who attended daily mass, Bernini's devotion to Rome shaped his work, then and always. Thus, Bernini's sculptures were conscious attempts to be emotional stimuli, pointing towards piety.
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