Beth Godbout Professor Pederson Baroque Art 17 April 2019 Apollo and Daphne Gianlorenzo Bernini, Son of Sculptor Pietro Bernini, Was Born in Naples in 1598
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Godbout 1 Beth Godbout Professor Pederson Baroque Art 17 April 2019 Apollo and Daphne Gianlorenzo Bernini, son of sculptor Pietro Bernini, was born in Naples in 1598. He began his practices as a sculptor in his father’s studio at the age of eight, gaining his reputation as a prodigy at a very early age.1 When Gianlorenzo was eleven years old, he went to Rome with his father to be introduced to Pope Paul V Borghese. The pope was impressed with young Bernini’s potential and following this initial meeting, encouraged Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to mentor Gianlorenzo during his studies. In 1623, Barberini was elected Pope Urban VIII, and eventually became one of Bernini’s most valuable networking advantages, often commissioning Bernini and keeping him in close contact with his intellectual circles. Barberini was a poet, mostly writing in Latin, so it is likely that he or the members of his circle would have influenced Bernini’s understanding and interest in the literary and mythological sources which informed his mythologically themed sculptures. Additionally, a biography written by his son suggests2 that young Bernini studied ancient sculptures as well as works in the Vatican from Raphael, Michelangelo and Giulio Romano. Bernini is also known to have done work in restoring antiquities; repairing and recreating damages done to various sculptures. The sculpture of Apollo and Daphne was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a member of Barberini’s social circle and nephew of Pope Paul V Borghese (Figure 1). Apollo 1 Michael P. Mezzartesta and Rudolf Preimesberger. “Bernini Family.” Grove Art Online, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T008287 2 Domenico Bernini. The Life of Gian Lorenzo Bernini: A Translation and Critical Edition, with Introduction and Commentary, trans. Franco Mormando (Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011). Godbout 2 and Daphne was created for the Villa Borghese, situated at the edge of Rome, between the years 1622 and 1625. It was used by the Cardinal to house his art collection and host gatherings with his fellow intellectuals. His large collection of both ancient and contemporary works, and Borghese’s high status in Rome emphasized the value of Borghese as a patron. Musicians and poets were frequent guests to the Villa, invited to perform and read work that would spark discussion and debate. Ovid’s Metamorphoses is one such epic which Borghese and his community would have been exceedingly familiar with. The mythology of Metamorphoses follows that Apollo and Daphne, a nymph, have been shot by Cupid with two arrows issuing opposing effects. The arrow which hit Apollo had been dipped in gold and was meant to make the targeted fall in love, while the arrow which hit Daphne was dipped in lead, causing her to become disgusted with the idea of falling in love. Upon falling in love with Daphne, Apollo chased the uninterested nymph through the woods but once he catches up to her she is turned into a laurel tree by her father Peneus who had heard her crying out to him for help. In the sculpture, Apollo and Daphne, Bernini brought to life the most dramatic scene of the story, the moment Daphne is transformed into a laurel tree. The Apollo and Daphne was originally placed adjacent to an the entrance, against the wall of a gallery in the Villa Borghese. This made the viewing experience one that would first introduce the audience to the back of Apollo, with Daphne barely in view. This curatorial technique makes it possible for viewers to approach the sculpture as they would the literary source which inspired the work. The narrative, as told through Bernini’s desired vantage point, would have had an ambiguous beginning, but as the viewer moved through the room the narrative would begin to Godbout 3 unfold in a deliberately choreographed revelation of a story.3 A viewer would first see Apollo’s hand reaching out to grab Daphne as her metamorphosis begins. Apollo’s mouth is slightly agape in surprised confusion, as his eyes are fixated on Daphne’s back, in apparent denial as Daphne is becoming engulfed in bark, and her hands and hair begin to disappear into leaves and branches. His hands follow his eyes as he reaches for her, determined to engulf her in his embrace before something else can. Bernini rendered both the process of physical and emotional change in his manipulation of the marble. From the front, Daphne’s mouth is open wide, as her eyes express both fear and acceptance of the loss of her human form, the same way Apollo grapples with the acceptance of such blatant rejection. Her hands are slowly morphed into branches and leaves at her fingertips and her torso is almost completely wrapped in the trunk of the tree (Figure 2). In this way, Bernini has captured the transformation of the physical form in juxtaposition with the change of a spiritual being and the emotional state of both Apollo and Daphne. This sculptural rendering of the motions of the mind was exceedingly popular after the discovery of Laocoön and His Sons of antiquity revealed a more intricate style of classical sculpture than was previously thought to exist (Figure 3). The accentuated twists and curls of the figures in Laocoön and His Sons brings the scene to life, and then proceeds to trap the figures in a moment of great distress. In the Apollo and Daphne, it appears as though Bernini has called upon the two to relive this moment, and then froze time so they are forever confined to the circumstances Bernini has set them in. This time, however, Apollo and Daphne’s story is no longer their own. The figures stand atop a naturalistic base: Apollo pursues Daphne with rocks below his feet while she appears to be transforming into a tree; roots growing beneath her with every step 3 Ann Thomas Wilkins. “Bernini and Ovid: Expanding the Concept of Metamorphosis.” International Journal of the Classical Tradition 6 (2000): 391. Godbout 4 she takes. Beneath them is an inscription written in Latin by Barberini which reads, “The lover who would fleeting beauty clasp plucks bitter fruit; dry leaves are all he’ll grasp.” This implies the use of Greco-Roman themes to create a context of contemporary Christian morality as it relates to the victory of chastity over passion. Eroticism and sensuality, especially in religious contexts, was thought to distract people from the spiritual and learning experience which art was meant to evoke. Saint Cecilia became a popular subject as she was a role model for choosing chastity over passion as a symbol of valuing Christian values over human desires. After the Protestant Reformation in 1545, the Catholic Church was under great pressure to establish a set of morals and beliefs which would draw people to the faith as well as maintain its already loyal followers. Artists were commissioned to create works that would teach and inspire viewers to look towards the Catholic church to reach moral maturity. For work to be awe inspiring, it had to be grandiose and dramatic. Baroque art is most noted for its over the top portrayal of emotion and grand gestures as well as its vibrant and deep colors, use of gold inlay and heavy ornamentation. The moral qualities of the Apollo and Daphne would have been integral to a Counter Reformation agenda, but the visual dramatics of the sculpture paired with intellectual and illusionistic poetry within the work appeal to the theatrical side of the Baroque aesthetic. Bernini has been widely recognized as one of the artists most directly influenced by Ovid. Under Borghese patronage, Bernini would have been surrounded by well-known examples of art from antiquity while keeping in the company of a literary circle of men well-read in literature from Ovid and his counterparts as well as contemporaries of the Baroque period. The resurgence of interest in antiquity would have been, in large part, due to the need for intellectually and artistically stimulating interpretations of philosophy, politics, and theology Godbout 5 within a contemporary context. Interest in Ovid and his poetry started long before Bernini was working in Rome, and Bernini carried this adoration into his own work as well as drew inspiration from a number of other visual and literary sources. Bernini’s interest in Ovidian themes, however, comes from an interest in the concept at the very center of Ovid’s epic, that of visual metamorphosis itself. In the Apollo and Daphne, Bernini sets out to challenge both painting and poetry by using a stagnant medium, pushing marble to life and creating movement through multiple stories of change within a singular sculpture. In perfect Baroque fashion, he transforms sculpture into an unfolding drama which moves with the viewer within a naturalistic environment which turns marble into flesh, bark, leaves, and cloth. Bernini uses Ovidian poetry and Baroque morality and artistic extravagance as inspiration to foster a powerful argument for sculpture in the continued rivalry of his predecessors between art forms, known as the paragone, while simultaneously creating a union between literature and art. The paragone created heavy tension during the Renaissance, with Leonardo da Vinci as one of the most active artists in the debate. Leonardo’s stance was that painting was the most divine of art forms as he believed painting was, “the sole imitator of all the manifest works of nature...which with philosophical and subtle speculation considers all manner of forms.” 4 Leonardo held that painting was a science, an extension of nature, and the most profound means of bringing one closer to God through an observation and depiction of nature.