Travels in Rome] (18) Bernini's "Apollo and Daphne" - The greatest masterpiece of the early years! A treasure of the Borghese Museum, hailed as a miracle of art!
Previous Article(17) Bernini's "The Plunder of Proserpina" - Amazing flesh! Incredible and superbly crafted! An early masterpiece from the Borghese Museum collection!"Let's look at Bernini's masterpieces at the Borghese Museum, following on from
I would like to introduce a work called "Apollo and Daphne," which is known as one of the best works of Bernini's early years. Let's get started.
Apollo and Daphne, produced between 1623 and 1625.
Following "The Plunder of Proserpina," it is known that in August of 1622, Bellini began work on "Apollo and Daphne" and was still working on it in February of the following year. However, in the summer of the same year, he began another work, "David," which he completed by the following spring. After that, he again began "Apollo and Daphne," but he did not completely finish it until 1625. However, it is assumed that this work was already quite finished when he began "David. Therefore, I will consider "Apollo and Daphne" first.
This work is also based on Ovidius' Tale of Transfiguration. The famous story of Apollo, who was shot with a golden arrow that produced love, pursuing Daphne, who was shot with a lead arrow that made her hate love.laurel treeThis is a section of the story of the transformation of the
In the same way, the god runs in hope and the maiden in fear. But the pursuer, on the wings of love, is quicker on his feet, and without a moment's respite, he quickly pursues behind, his breath on the maiden's neck and her hair. The maiden, at the end of her strength, turned pale and exhausted from the strain of running for so long, yelled out as soon as she saw the stream of the penaeus.
If there is divine power in your stream, Father, please help me! If you have divine power in your stream, Father, please help me!
As soon as Daphne had finished her impassioned prayer, a violent stiffening of her arms and legs began to take hold. And in a moment, his soft chest was covered with thin bark, his hair was replaced by leaves, his arms by twigs, his legs, which had been running so fast just a few moments before, became strong roots, and his face was covered with treetops. (Tanaka & Maeda, Vol. 1, 537-550)Ovidius' poem was visualized by Bernini with great skill. Baldinucci said, "It is a work of the unimaginable, a work that has always been, and will always be, a miracle of art, both in the eyes of those who know art well and in those of complete amateurs, As soon as it was completed, "the whole of Rome went to see it, as if by a miracle," and the work earned Bernini the reputation of being a "child prodigy. In fact, the "Apollo and Daphne" is particularly famous among Bernini's sculptures, along with the "The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa" in Santa Maria della Vittoria, and it continued to win acclaim even as his reputation fell to the ground amid the neoclassical climate.
Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p28-30
The Sack of Proserpina, which I mentioned in my last article, is also Ovidius'A Tale of Transformation.was the motif.
The "Apollo and Daphne" presented here is based on this very motif, and is "a brilliant visualization of Ovid's verse.
Incidentally, the "The Laws of Saint Teresa" of Santa Maria de la Vittoria, which was mentioned here, is the following sculpture.
Let us now look at the appeal of this work, which has even been hailed as a miracle of art.
The ultimate in superb craftsmanship in the realization of a three-dimensional painting.
With this work, Bernini has taken the new possibilities he tried with the plunder of "Proserpina" to the extreme. He captures the climactic moment of the story and forms it as if it were a snapshot, so that the viewer can understand the whole story at a glance, just as if he were looking at a painting. For this purpose, he chiseled marble like wax to capture the dynamic movement, while at the same time pursuing rarity and beauty. This is the kind of sculpture that Bellini intended. It is a three-dimensional painting, so to speak, and it can be said that he was trying to put into practice in sculpture the aesthetic of "painting is like poetry," which has long captured the hearts of the public. This was realized in Bernini's "techniqueThe "Musee de la Ville" almost seems to push the limits of sculpture, and Bernini himself would go on to create such brilliant "Musee de la Ville" in the future.techniqueThe first is "The World of the Artist", which is a very good example of the genius of Bernini. The precocious genius of Bernini is at his best here.
Bernini, who later contradicted this work in Paris, boasted about the "lightness" expressed in Daphne's hair, but the "lightness" dominates not only her hair, but also her entire body. This gives the impression that she is floating in the air. In the past, this impression was even stronger than it is today. The reason is that in modern times, parts of the rock have been reinforced to improve stability. In its original state, the visual instability would have evoked a greater sense of movement and floating. Because of this unique sense of movement and suspension, as well as the fantastical nature of the story, many people feel as if the entire work has transcended rarity and entered the world of fantasy. It is reminiscent of the ballet and even looks like a distant ancestor of Art Nouveau. In particular, when we look up at the tip of Daphne's right hand, where the twigs are connected to her hair, we feel as if the marble were a sticky substance, and we are almost under the illusion that we are looking at an Art Nouveau work. A good artist often anticipates the possibilities of various forms.
Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p30-31
Indeed, when I entered the room where this sculpture was exhibited, I couldn't help but let out an involuntary "Genius...! When I entered the room where this sculpture was exhibited, I couldn't help but say to myself, "Genius...! Proserpina" was certainly amazing, but this sculpture is in a different realm. I can understand from the bottom of my heart why it was praised as a "miracle of art.
I can't help but marvel at this kind of genius. I was speechless. It is that overwhelming.
Let's also take a closer look at the hair mentioned in the commentary above. Indeed, it has a lightness that does not look like stone. It really looks as if the hair is wavy. The way the hair that has been soared up and transformed into leaves is also very realistic. It is so natural that it seems to have lost the boundary between reality and fantasy.
Masumi Ishinabe then continues his commentary.
Bernini Learning from Ancient Art
The fantastic atmosphere of "Apollo and Daphne" is a clear indication of Bernini's imaginative orientation toward transcending the world of rarity. Later, when he began to focus on religious works, this orientation manifested itself in his exploration of transcendental ecstasy. However, the atmosphere of "Apollo and Daphne" tends to mask other important aspects of the work. In other words, the strong fantastical impression of the work tends to overlook the fact that, even in this work, Bernini started from a study of ancient art.
I did not mention earlier that in "The Plunder of Proserpina," the pluto is said to be based on Torso, which was discovered in 1620 and owned by Sipione Borghese, and Proserpina on "Niobe," respectively. In this "Apollo and Daphne," the similarities between Apollo and the famous "Apollo of Belvedere" in the Vatican are particularly striking. In fact, the comparison of the two heads is nothing short of shocking. The "academic" image of Apollo of Belvedere and the poetic impression of this work are so far apart that the striking resemblance between the two is surprising. In fact, it is so similar that it is hard to believe that it is part of the work we have seen so far. This comparison shows how much the young Bernini learned from ancient art and how freely he applied the results.
Even in his later, more "baroque" works, Bernini often departed from ancient sculpture. But the resulting works make us forget this fact altogether. This relationship between ancient art and Bernini often confuses those of us who use the terms "classicism" and "baroque" as a convenient way of expressing opposite concepts. The question of the relationship between ancient art and classicism in the broadest sense is one of the fundamental issues in Italian art in general. In order to consider Bernini's art, we must return to this question again and again.
Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p31-32
The angles are not the same, so it is hard to say, but the hair and expression certainly resemble the "Apollo of Belvedere" in the Vatican Museums.
As Masumi Ishinabe states here, if we become fixated on the idea that "Baroque art = something novel and new," we will lose sight of the essence of Bernini's work. Bernini studied Renaissance and ancient art, including Michelangelo's, and applied them to his own works.
The phrase "learning from the past" is often used to describe Bernini, and he was a man who truly lived up to it.
be unbroken
*The list of articles in the "Rome Travel Journal" can be found atCategory page hereindicates direction or goal (e.g. "to")
*Please visit this category page for recommended books to learn about Rome and Italy.
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, the Vatican, and Roman Catholicism."
The Italian Renaissance and the Revolution in Knowledge."
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