(31) Statues of Daniel and Habakkuk in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo - Bernini's Mystique and Ancient Roman Inspiration

Travels in Rome] (31) Statues of Daniel and Habakkuk in Santa Maria del Popolo Church - Bernini's Mystique and Inspiration of Ancient Rome

Previous Article(30) A New Patron Pope, Alexander VII! The architectural pope behind Bernini's second golden age!"In the following section, I told you about the emergence of a new patron, Pope Alexander VII.

In this article, I will discuss the Pheasant Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, which Bernini worked on shortly after the Pope's accession.

Bernini working on the Daniel and Habakkuk statues in the Pheasant Chapel designed by Raphael.

Domenico wrote: "The sun had not yet set when the knight was called to the papacy on that happy day when a new pope was born." Alexander VII was an old friend of Bernini's, since he had been in close contact with the writers and artists around Urbanus VIII before his appointment to Cologne. When he returned from Cologne, he met with Bernini at the Pontifical Palace and immediately asked him to maintain his own chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo. This work went ahead as soon as he ascended to the papal throne, and it was here that he created two masterpieces, both of which were sculptures, which was his vocation. (omitted)

By the way, the Pheasant Chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo, which Alexander VII commissioned to be maintained during his cardinalate, is one of the masterpieces of Renaissance art of the last century, designed by Raffaelecolo for his friend Agostino Pheasant, who designed the building and decoration. Bernini had two of these chapels left vacant.niche (in Western architecture)Nicchia.The chapel was completed with the sculptures to be placed in the chapel, and the floor and other decorations were also completed. The two back niches at the four corners of the chapel already contained statues of Jonah and Elia by Lorenzetto based on Raffaelecchio's drawings. However, Bellini moved one of them to the front and rearranged them so that Lorenzetto's two works and his statues of Habakkuk and Daniel face each other on opposite sides.

Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p127-129

To his surprise, the Pheasant Chapel was built by Raphael. Bernini was entrusted with the completion of the interior.

Here are two sculptures by Bernini.

Let's continue to look at the explanations.

The reason for his work is immediately apparent when one visits the chapel after learning the story of his two statues. The less common story of Habakkuk, guided by an angel, delivering food to Daniel, who was thrown into the lion's den, is found in Daniel's exegesis, "Bel and the Dragon. (omitted).

From this story, Bernini created the very angel smiling as he grabs a bewildered Habakkuk by the hair to carry him to Babylon, and the image of Daniel kneeling before God the Father on the cupola, giving thanks and saying prayers.

And the former at the far right of the chapel.niche (in Western architecture)Nicchia.The latter is placed in the left front wall niche. Thus, when we view this work in the chapel, our attention is drawn diagonally across the chapel and further up to the cupola. In other words, the entire space of the chapel becomes a stage for the story, and we, standing there, feel as if we are in the middle of the story. Baldinucci wrote: "Perhaps no one before us, or in his own time, has handled marble as freely and as boldly as he did.

This is painfully evident in the two works in this kibbutz chapel. There is no splendor like that of "Apollo and Daphne" or "The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa," but the overall form of the work is flawless. However, there is not an inch of space in the overall form, and every part of the work has a richness of nuance and beauty that one would not expect from marble. In order to appreciate the subtle changes in the texture of the marble, one must view the work in natural light. As is true of sculpture in general, the lighting in churches often detracts from the effect of the work. Natural light is especially important for viewing the sculptures of Bellini, who was more familiar than anyone else with all the nuances of marble sculpture, and who carefully considered the light in the field, regarding it as part of the work itself. The richness of the original work cannot be achieved with a strongly lit print, much less one that is photographed with strong light. This is something we are keenly aware of as we observe the two works in the Pheasant Chapel. The chapel's juxtaposition of Renaissance and Baroque art makes it convenient for comparison, but the strong interest in the effects of light is one of the qualities of Baroque art, as is clear from the comparison of the works in this chapel.

Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p129-131

As is true of sculpture in general, the lighting in churches often detracts from the effect of the work. Natural light is especially important for the appreciation of the sculptures of Bellini, who was more attentive to the light of the scene, regarding it as part of the work, and who knew better than anyone how to express every nuance of marble sculpture."

This point is very important to know about Bernini. I also tried to be very conscious of this when I watched Bernini's works in Rome.

Bernini refines the expression of mysticism

These two works were begun in 1655, after Alexander VII took the papal throne, and Daniel was completed by June of 57, while Habakkuk was not completed until November of 61.niche (in Western architecture)Nicchia.The two statues are known to have been housed in the same building. As expected from the age of the statues, the mysticism that characterized the sculptures of Bellini's later years is clearly evident in the two statues. Habakkuk and the angel are less mystical because of the nature of the story, but Daniel praying to God evokes a mystical devotion that could almost be described as a state of ecstasy. In other words, Daniel's body feels as if it is rising, free from gravity, through the mystical power implied by the robe that clings to him. The weightlessness of the body expresses Daniel's ecstasy and his prayer toward heaven. It is easy to say in words that the sculpture is free from gravity, but it would be an extremely difficult task to actually achieve this in marble. This was a possibility for marble sculpture that had never been explored before Bellini. Moreover, it is surprising that in this work, the artist has achieved this with only a pose, a body, and a piece of cloth, rather than with a complex representation of a robe as in "The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa".

Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p131

Indeed, "Daniel" on the left is almost devoid of clothing. It is clear that Bernini did not dare to use his signature expression of the folds of a garment. But the mysteriousness is still there, which is the wonder of Bernini.

Masumi Ishinabe also makes another important point in "Daniel.

Bernini inspired by ancient Roman art, especially "Laocoon

Our surprise is doubled when we learn that the sculpture was inspired by an ancient work. A series of drawings of this work have survived, allowing us to trace the process of its creation.

The above shows that, in conceiving this sculpture, Bellini began with a drawing of the torso of the Father in the Laocoon group, and gradually adapted it to his vision of expression. Gradually, he adapted it to his own vision of expression. Through this process, Daniel's stretched body expression, often called "anti-classical" or even "Gothic," was born.

As we have mentioned again, the relationship with antiquity, or classicism, is one of the fundamental problems in the history of Italian art. For us, Bernini is the creator of the Baroque, an artist who is the opposite of the classicist current, but Bernini himself was a self-proclaimed authentic successor of antiquity and Annibale Carracci. In his later lectures on the education of artists at the Academy in Paris, he emphasized the importance of learning from ancient works, almost verbatim repeating Beㇽroli's classicist theories. Nevertheless, like other Baroque artists, he showed little interest in the theory of art itself, and his work was not so much about the practice of theory as it was about the practice of theory. His work was instinctive and sensual, even though it was based on reason.

This difference between Bernini and Poussin and other artists of the 17th century who tended toward classicism is well illustrated in the use of models of ancient art, as Wittkauer has discussed. That is, Poussin et al,austerestoicIn this way, he purified the form to reach a nobler form of expression. In contrast, Bernini, on the contrary, used ancient forms as a starting point,visualvisionaireHe transformed it with his unbridled imagination and transformed it into a form of expression that was compatible with his religious sentiments. In Italy, antiquity was "second nature. Just as artists' attitudes toward nature varied, so did their responses to antiquity.
*some line breaks.

Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p131-133

Bernini is often thought of as an innovative artist, but as this book has pointed out many times before, he learned much from ancient art.

Daniel" is also inspired by the "Laocoon" of ancient Rome. There are indeed many similarities in the twists and turns of the body and the musculature of the muscles.

Bernini's original organ decoration - organ and wood become one.

The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo has another interesting work related to Bernini. Here it is.

It is a work that expresses the fantasy world typical of Bernini, in which the organ is made one with the wood as it is. Masumi Ishinabe's commentary is appended below.

Now, this plan to improve the Pheasant Chapel evolved into a plan to decorate the entire Santa Maria del Popolo after Fabio Pheasant's accession to the papacy. These decorations, mainly by Stucco, were done by his disciples, as usual, and need not be discussed here, but one thing that attracts our attention is the interesting organ above the right wing nave. The organ and the oak wood are combined in a baroqueillusionsfantasyand "(job) turnovermetamorphosisThe reason is that it is a good example of the "I" in the "I". We have Bernini's drawing of the organ's ornamentation, so we can get an idea of what the image in his mind was like. In other words, the organ is encircled by an oak tree, the oak tree becomes the organ, and the organ becomes the oak tree again. That oak tree is "genealogysessileIt is like the "tree of the tree of the tree of the original sin" and the "tree of the original sin" of Adam and Eve. But at the same time, it is also the oak tree from which the pheasant family's coat of arms grew. The music of the heavens flows from it, Bernini said. Such "ideaconchetoand form.illusionsfantasyThe organ decoration in the original is entirely Bernini-like and baroque. However, the actual decoration of the organ is not as in Bellini's drawing, and the fantasy is much less convincing. Nevertheless, the Art Nouveau-inspired decorations are still a delight to the viewer.

Masumi Ishinabe, Yoshikawa KobunkanBernini, Giant Star of Baroque Art.p133-134

To the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo with "Daniel" and "Habakkuk

Now, I also came to the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo where "Daniel" and "Habakkuk" are located. As the name suggests, this church is located facing Piazza del Popolo. (I have already introduced Piazza del Popolo in my previous article.(1) Gateway to Rome: Porta del Popolo and Piazza del Popolo - A stroke of the eye that instantly draws the traveler in! The quintessence of Rome as a theater city!"(See the article on)

Now, let's go inside the hall.

The interior of the hall is simpler than I had imagined. The reason there are no people in the hall in this photo is that I entered the hall as soon as it opened.

In fact, this church of Santa Maria del Popolo is more famous for Caravaggio than Bernini. The church houses his "The Conversion on the Way to Damascus," and it is very crowded with people in front of the painting. It is not an ideal place for a leisurely viewing of the painting.

The same is true of the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, where Caravaggio's masterpiece "The Convocation of St. Matthew" is located, and here, too, the area in front of Caravaggio's painting was already overcrowded. I was looking forward to this trip because I also like Caravaggio's paintings, but I was frankly disappointed by this congestion and confusion. It was not a good time to appreciate the paintings. If I wanted to see the paintings in detail, I would have to go there at a time when there would be fewer people. Unfortunately, my schedule did not allow me to make the time. If you are planning a pilgrimage to Caravaggio, I highly recommend that you avoid the crowds.

This is the Pheasant Chapel. The "Habakkuk" is at the back right of the photo.

niche (in Western architecture)Nicchia.The sense of dynamism that seems to protrude from the The expression of the robe, which is minimal but has a strong presence. The work captures a dramatic moment that is typical of Bernini.

This is the statue of Daniel. As explained above, "Habakkuk" and "Daniel" are placed facing each other. This means that the statue is not visible to us, as opposed to "Habakkuk" in the front. This is unfortunate! I wanted to see "Daniel" more than "Habakkuk. I was looking forward to seeing the mysterious physical expression that Masumi Ishinabe praised so highly, but all I could see was the side view.

Although we were not able to see "Daniel," which we were looking for, this church is also a chapel designed by Raphael, and it houses many other works of art. This church is also easily accessible, so I highly recommend this church as well. It is not only a place to pay a visit to Bernini, but also one of the best places to visit when sightseeing in Rome.

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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