Gian Lorenzo Bernini 1598-1680
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GIAN LORENZO BERNINI 1598-1680 There are two devices which can help the sculptor to judge his work: one is not to see it for a while. The other... is to look at his work through spectacles which will change its color and magnify or diminish it, so as to disguise it somehow to his eye, and make it look as though it were the work of another. Gianlorenzo Bernini Grades 3-5 PowerPoint Lesson Plan OBJECTIVES HISTORY: Places an artwork in its art historical context. Students will be able to identify the dramatic movement and emotionalism of Baroque sculpture. CRITICISM: Informed talk about art. Students will be able to describe the difference between a sculptural form and a two dimensional art work. AESTHETICS: Questions the nature, value and beauty of art. Students compare Michelangelo’s sculptures to Bernini’s sculptures and discuss whether or not one style is better than the other. PRODUCTION: Creating art. Students will create a self-portrait that is a sculptural form. VOCABULARY Note to volunteers The vocabulary words will be in bold italics throughout the lesson. They will be defined within the text of the lesson and do not need to be presented separately. The definitions included under this section of the lesson are very detailed and intended for adults. Form: an object that has volume that takes up space. A three-dimensional object that has height, width and depth. (Shape only has two dimensions, height and width.) Note to volunteers To help students understand what a form is, bring in a ball 1 PowerPoint Presentation (form) and a circle cut-out (shape) for comparison so that the students have a visual example. A cut-out of a square or rectangle could be compared to a box. Sculpture: any work of art carried out in three dimensions (height, width and depth). An artist who creates a sculpture is called a sculptor. Baroque: art movement that prevailed in Europe in the 17th century. It originated in Italy and stressed an overall unity through the use of sweeping curves and slashing diagonals and by means of a massing of light against dark, and physicality paired with void. It was expressive, often turbulent, and stressed the dramatic moment. Baroque art was essentially a Roman Catholic art and its development coincided with the Counter-Reformation. RELIGION GUIDELINES Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley issued this statement from the U.S. Department of Education, in June of 1998. (These guidelines were re-released in December of 1999 without change.) Teaching about religion: Public schools may not provide religious instruction, but they may teach about religion, including the Bible or other scripture: the history of religion, comparative religion, the Bible (or other scripture)-as-literature, and the role of religion in the history of the United States and other countries all are permissible public school subjects. Similarly, it is permissible to consider religious influences on art, music, literature, and social studies. To look at the specific Beaverton School District policy on studying religious beliefs and customs, visit the school district’s website, www.beavton.k12.or.us. Click on school board, then school board policies, then section IGACA. NUDITY GUIDELINES This lesson uses slides which contain some nudity. Although the nudity may not be considered “graphic,” the figure is not clothed. When using these slides you must take the following step. 1. The school Art Literacy coordinator must notify the school principal in advance of the volunteer presentation. Show the principal the materials that will be used. If the principal is not in agreement with your presentation, do not go ahead with the presentation as planned (substitute a slide which meets with the approval of the principal). Remember, your presentation directly reflects on the school. A parent will probably not make a distinction between the school and Art Literacy, in their mind they are one and the same. To look at the specific Beaverton School District policy on studying controversial issues, visit the school district’s website, www.beavton.k12.or.us. Click on school board, then school board policies, then section INB. 2 PowerPoint Presentation INTRODUCTION DAVID BY MICHELANGELO, 1501-04, MARBLE, 17’ Let me start by telling you a story. A very long time ago, a young artist named Gian Lorenzo Bernini (GEE-awn Low-REN-so bear-NEE-nee), walked through the public square in Florence, Italy, past the sculpture of David that the artist Michelangelo (mik-el-AN-jel-loe) had carved 100 years earlier. He looked at it and thought to himself, “This statue of David is beautiful, but he doesn’t look like he is ready for a battle. He looks so quiet and still” Bernini had read the story in the Bible about the young shepherd named David who had used a slingshot and a stone to kill the giant Goliath (go-LYE-uth.) This David sculpture didn’t look ready for a fight and Bernini just KNEW he could make a more exciting sculpture. His sculpture would look so real at every angle, you would want to duck for fear of being hit by a stone from his slingshot….. DAVID BY BERNINI, 1623-24, MARBLE, LIFE-SIZE …and here we see the finished sculpture of David by the famous artist we are going to learn about today, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Can you say that with me – Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Do you think this sculpture of David looks like he’s ready for a fight? (Let students give their opinions.) HISTORY SELF-PORTRAIT, HEAD C.1675, TERRACOTTA, Gian Lorenzo Bernini was born in Italy over 400 years ago. His father was a sculptor. A sculptor is an artist who makes artwork like this statue. Sculptures are not flat like paintings or drawings, sculptures take up space. You can walk all the way around a sculpture and it can look different from every side. They can be made from many different kinds of materials. This one is made of clay and gives us an idea of what Bernini looked like. By the time Bernini was 10 years old, his talent was noticed and instead of studying by himself, he began to be taught by other artists. By his early twenties, he was recognized as brilliant, and not only was he the best sculptor any of the teachers had seen, he could also paint, design buildings, write plays and design the sets! Although he had many talents, he became a sculptor like his father. STONECUTTER WITH MALLET AND CHISEL Most of the sculptures made by Bernini and other artists during this time were carved from a very hard stone called marble. The tools sculptors use for carving 3 PowerPoint Presentation stone like you see here, are a hammer called a mallet and sharp metal tools called chisels. The sculptor hits the flat end of the chisel with the mallet which shatters and breaks off the stone. The stone is slowly carved away using these tools. The artist chips away all the parts of the stone that are not part of their design. It takes a long time to carve a sculpture depending on how big or small it is. Many of the sculptures Bernini carved took a year or more to finish. APOLLO AND DAPHNE 1622-1624, MARBLE Bernini’s sculptures were very exciting. He told stories with his artworks that showed how the people in them were feeling and he could make us feel as if we are watching the story right in front of us. This is a close up view of a sculpture that tells the make believe story of Apollo and Daphne (DAFF-nee). We see Apollo chasing Daphne, who was afraid of being caught, so her father saved her by turning her into a tree. Bernini chose to show the most exciting part of the story in his sculpture; the moment when Daphne begins to turn into a tree. Apollo has a look of shock on his face as he realizes that Daphne’s feet are turning into roots, her hair is turning into leaves, and her hands are turning into branches. Daphne looks terrified, not only because she is being chased, but she realizes that she is turning into a tree. The figures in this sculpture almost look like real people who are frozen in time and they are what we call life-size, or the same size as a person. FOUNTAIN OF FOUR RIVERS 1651,ROME, ITALY, PIAZZA NAVONA This is the Fountain of Four Rivers that Bernini also designed. Even though it is almost 400 years old, it is a still a popular place for people to visit in Rome today. In it, there are four large marble sculptures that stand for four great rivers in different parts of the world. There are also plants and animals that live and grow by each river. As you walk around it, the view of what you see will change…. FOUNTAIN OF FOUR RIVERS, DETAIL 1651,ROME, ITALY, PIAZZA NAVONA Here is another view of one of the sculptures as you go around the fountain. Sculptures take up space and in art they are called forms. Say that with me – “forms.” Forms take up space. They are what we call three-dimensional. They are tall (height), wide (width) and deep (depth). Paintings and drawings are flat and have 4 PowerPoint Presentation only two dimensions (height and width). We call things that are flat, shapes. Look at all the different views we can see of the fountain when walking around it! Note to volunteers Left click your mouse two more times to fade in two more views of the fountain, one at a time.