Rome - Baroque Masters

The Baroque period continued the evolution of Rome's art and architecture and produced three masters of its own, Bernini (sculptor and architect), Borromini (architect), and Carravaggio (painter).

Maybe I'm biased, but I think that Bernini (1598 - 1680) defined Rome and put his stamp on the city even more than Michelangelo did a century earlier.  Beginning with sculpture while still a teenager,  Bernini progressed to architecture but continued to sculpt throughout most of his long life.

Bernini's David

The Museo e Galleria Borghese in Rome is home to three of Bernini's most impressive sculptures, Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius Fleeing Troy, Pluto and Proserpina, and David.  It's hard to believe, when looking at his work, that this is actually marble.  You can see what I mean in the detail of Pluto's hand grasping Proserpina's thigh:

Detail from Pluto and Proserpina

Two other important sculptures are housed in churches in Rome, Ecstasy of St. Teresa at Santa Maria della Vittoria (made even more famous by Dan Brown's Angels & Demons) and Ecstasy of Beata Ludovica Albertoni at San Francesco a Ripa.

Ecstasy of Beata Ludovica Albertoni

Bernini is also well represented by water, most notably by the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) in Piazza Navona.

Detail from Bernini's Fontana dei Quatro Fiumi, Piazza Navona

Bernini the architect can be seen in two vastly different structures, the small, elegant and personal feeling Sant'Andrea al Quirinale (just six blocks from our hotel in Rome) and the vast, grandiose Colonnade of St. Peter's Square.  The colonnade solved a number of architectural issues and tied together the hodgepodge of buildings that made up the Vatican Palace.  When viewed from the dome of St. Peter's, you can see the colonnade as a pair of welcoming arms, hugging pilgrims as they approach the basilica.

Sant'Andrea al Quirinale

Bernini's Colonnade, Piazza San Pietro

The work and style of Borromini, Bernini's contemporary and rival, is perhaps best represented by the tiny church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (also known as San Carlino).  Located just one block away from Bernini's Sant'Andrea al Quirinale (and only five blocks from our hotel), San Carlino is a complex marvel of light, intricate details and multiple dimensions.

Sant'Ivo della Sapienza, another Borromini creation, may be the most dramatic church in Rome.  The spiral lantern on top is immediately identifiable, there's just nothing else like it.

Caravaggio was profoundly gifted and deeply disturbed, in nearly equal measure.  Before beating it out of town just ahead of a murder charge, he pioneered a new way of using light and shadow in painting and was the first to paint biblical subjects in a naturalistic manner.  The best of example of this is the St. Matthew trilogy at San Luigi dei Francesi.  The Crucifixion of St. Peter in the Cerasi Chapel at Santa Maria del Popolo is another case in point.

Caravaggio The Calling of St. Matthew

Maybe the most amazing thing about all of this tremendous art is that most of it can be viewed at no charge.  There is a fee to enter the Borghese, but all of the churches, fountains and squares are free.