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Travels in Rome] (22) Bernini's "St. Longinus" - A huge sculpture in St. Peter's Basilica. A masterpiece bursting with Bernini's illusions!
Previous Article(21) Bernini's "Baldacchino" - A masterpiece bronze statue that stands out in St. Peter's Basilica! And a surprising episode with the Pantheon."introduced Bernini's Baldacchino, the face of St. Peter's Basilica.
In this article, I would like to talk about "St. Longinus," which Bernini produced in parallel with that Baldacchino.
The Four Relics of St. Peter's Basilica and the Commission to Bernini
While Baldacchino's work was in progress, plans were made for the decoration of the four pillars that support the dome. St. Peter's had three relics long revered by pilgrims: the cloth (known as the Vault Santo, or Holy Face) on which the saint Veronica wiped the sweat of Christ on the Golgotha hill and his face appeared; the spearhead with which the Roman soldier Longinus pierced Christ's body; and the head of St. Andrea, and the head of St. Andrea. Urbanus VIII decided to build four altars on each of the supporting walls to house the relics, including a part of the Holy Cross, newly transferred from Santa Croce in Gesalemme and San Tanastasia.
It can be said that the plan was to turn the entire St. Peter's into a gigantic reliquary. Bernini, who succeeded Carlo Maderno as "Architect of St. Peter's" after his death in 1619, was also entrusted with this task. The altar, with statues of saints associated with each reliquary and twisted columns from the inner sanctuary of the old St. Peter's, was to house the reliquaries.playing favourites (favorites)The most important of these is the four statues of saints. The four saints, the most important of the four, were created by the best sculptors of the day: Duchenoy (Andrea), Moki (Saint Veronica), and Borge (Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine and the saint who discovered the Holy Cross in Jerusalem). The sculptors were the best of their day.
Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p55-56
*some line breaks.
Together with "St. Longinus" (above), these are the four statues of St. Longinus. It is hard to convey in this photo, but they are gigantic.
Four huge pillars surround the central altar where the baldacchino is located. Each one of them has a statue of one of the saints. The one on the left in the back front is "St. Veronica" and the one on the right is "Saint Helena". The other two statues are not visible from the direction of this photo. By the way, Bernini's "St. Longinus" is on the column in the right foreground of this photo.
It is interesting to note that four of the most prominent artists of the day, Bernini, Duquenoy, Moki, and Borge, each created a statue. Indeed, when we compare the four statues, we can feel the difference in their styles. Aside from Bernini's "St. Longinus," I was particularly impressed by Moki's "St. Veronica. I was glued to the sharpness of this sculpture, as if it were slicing through me.
Let us continue with Masumi Ishinabe's commentary.
Bernini works carefully
St. Longinus" is a colossal statue measuring 4.4 meters in height. Because he had no experience with sculptures of this scale, and because it was an important work that would adorn the crossing of St. Peter's, Bellini began his work with great caution. The German painter Joachim von Zandraldt, who was visiting Rome at the time, reportedly showed him a small model (bozetto) of the Ninimono, so it is likely that Bellini made various models in clay to confirm his ideas and to find the form that best matched them. (omitted).
After the final draft of "St. Longinus" was decided, Bernini used his pupils to make a life-size statue of Stucco and placed it in the niche of St. Peter's to ask for the Pope's opinion. Since no life-size model was made for the portrait of Louis XIV, it is clear how carefully Bernini took care in the creation of this statue. To create this colossus, he sculpted the entire statue in four parts, which were then joined together (there are seams on the right shoulder, the right side of the cape, and the left rear cape). This method made it possible for the first time to create a pose with arms outstretched wide, clearly intended to create a pictorial effect. Thus, the basic concept of Renaissance sculpture, which explored sculpturality in a centripetal and closed manner within a single block of marble, is now physically negated.
Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p56-58
As described in this last section, "St. Longinus" was created by merging the parts of the statue as if it were a wooden parasitic structure. That is why the dynamic movement of the statue, as if its arms were wide open, could be expressed. This is an extremely innovative feat that one would not notice unless one were told about it. Michelangelo created his works as if he had carved an angel out of a single stone, and Bernini's work, which overturned the "common sense of the Renaissance," was to be placed in St. Peter's Basilica.
St. Peter's Basilica houses Michelangelo's miracle, the Pietà. This is the best example of a masterpiece carved from a single marble.
In St. Peter's Basilica, you can see the works of two of Italy's greatest geniuses, Michelangelo and Bernini. It is a great pleasure to be able to compare the works of these two artists in the same place.
Bernini's Illusion in "St. Longinus"
In "St. Longinus," Bernini further purified the basic idea of religious sculpture that he had presented in "Saint Bibiana," namely, the moment when the Roman soldier Longinus, who stabbed Christ in the side, looks up at the cross and exclaims, "Surely he was the Son of God. Here, too, the moment when the Roman soldier Longinus, having stabbed Christ in the side, looks up at the cross and exclaims, "Surely he was the Son of God," is captured as a psychological and mystical drama, and it is for this mystical drama that he has created the "Saint Longinus,folds of a kimonoThe result is the maximum use of the effects of the
In the case of "Bibiana," the folds of the robe also help to express the psychological drama, but in this work, the significance of the folds of the robe is incomparably greater. Brandi even wrote that the folds of the robe "play the true leading role in this sculpture. For this purpose, the law of gravity is completely ignored.
If Renaissance sculptors had seen this work, they would have said that the folds of the garment would never be like this, that this was contrary to the laws of nature. While they placed absolute trust in nature and tried to create their works as ideal natural objects, so to speak, Bellini saw sculpture as an object that should be seen where it is placed. Therefore, he did not necessarily need to be faithful to nature in order to make his work what he wanted it to be.
Shortly after arriving in Paris, Bernini surprised Chantreau with the following story. Experience has taught us that if a sculptor were to make a statue with one hand raised and the other on his chest, he would have to make the hand in the air larger and more generous than the hand on his chest. This is in order to change and consume the form that surrounds the other hand, or more precisely, to change some of its size.
In "St. Longinus," Bernini used illusions of light and shade in the folds of the robe as a kind of technique or rhetoric to aid the mystical drama. In "St. Longinus," he used the illusion of light and shade through the folds of the robe as a kind of technique or rhetoric to aid in the mystical drama. However, when we look at the only existing terra-cotta model I have already mentioned, we notice that the garments flow naturally in an ancient style, and no illusions are intended. In other words, here, too, Bernini started from a model that followed the ancient model and arrived at his own unique form.
Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p58-59
previously introduced.(20) Visit to the Church of Santa Bibiana, the debut work of architect Bernini! The most powerful patron, Urbanus VIII."As I mentioned in the article of "The Saints", Bernini had developed his own unique expression of the folds of a garment in "Saint Viviana". From there to "St. Longinus", his expression reached the level of illusion.
Comparing the images, it is clear that the expression of the folds of the garment is clearly more eloquent.
The clothes are raging as if they were a storm! This is certainly far from the laws of nature. But why is that? I can see it without any sense of discomfort. Rather, it gives a dramatic impression that is typical of Bernini.
Then I got even closer and was amazed! Note the texture of the robe! Even the fabric was finely sculpted! The texture of the robe had been completely recreated from a simple smooth marble! This was astonishing! Bernini's attention to detail is unbelievable!
This is wonderful. As one would expect from Bernini's careful and deliberate production.
St. Longinus" is facing just the opposite direction of Baldacchino and Catedra Petri, which can be seen beyond. Many people miss the statue and leave, or simply skim over it. But that is a waste of time. I recommend that you spend some time at this statue as well. It is a masterpiece of Bernini's magic.
There is another work in St. Peter's Basilica that was produced by Bernini at the same time.
That is the "Tomb of Urbanus VIII". The photo on the right is a close-up.
The "Tomb of Urbanus VIII" is located to the right of the Cathedra Petri behind the altar. This is also known as one of Bernini's masterpieces, although it is not possible to get a good look at it since it is not possible to visit it up close.
I cannot tell you more about it in this article, but I recommend that you also take a look at this one.
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."
*The following photos are my Bernini notes. I hope you will find them useful.
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