Blessed Ludovica Albertoni

After Michelangelo moved to Rome, one of the cardinals within the catholic church commissioned him to create a sculpture called ‘‘La Pieta.’’ ‘‘La Pieta’’ was sculpted from a single piece of marble stone and it was a representation of Christ and his mother Mary. This 6 foot by 6 foot sculpture only took 1 year for Michelangelo to complete it. The sculpture quickly became known for all the details that included the folding of the cloths, the ribs, and the bones which are incredibly difficult to sculpt.

Created in 1489 this masterpiece is made out of pure marble. This sculpture is located in the Vatican City. At first glance this sculpture looks like child dead in a mother's arms, which is correct but there is more too it. The sculpture represents the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Its shows his mother Mary holding him and he lays there dead. A very little detail that usually goes unnoticed is that Mary is not touching her son directly, but a cloth is between the two. This signifies the Higher Renaissance belief in Neoplatonic, that the beauty on earth signifies God's beauty. This masterpiece is not only amazing by the meaning but the glorious detail that Michelangelo was able to go into with practically a hammer and chisel.

The stone sculpture is made from marble. The artist remains unknown, but it was restored by the Italian Vincenzo Pacetti, an eighteenth-century sculptor. It is a Roman copy of a Greek work of the fourth century B.C. It is a medium size statue with a height of 82 3\4 in. (210.2 cm). Vincenzo Pacetti (1746-1820) was an Italian sculptor dedicated to restoring classical sculptures and then sell them to the rich.

Properzia de Rossi was one of the most prolific female sculptors of the 16th century. According to Theresa Schwartz de Rossi was born in 1500 (Schwartz 14) and “… a child prodigy… some of her carvings, accomplished when was eight years old, were collected and preserved” (Schwartz 15). De Rossi would become known not only for her”…intricate carvings on cherry- and peach-stones… [but would] later progressed to sculpting on a larger scale in marble” (Quinn 134). De Rossi produced important public work in Bologna. During a time where many public buildings where under reconstruction, competitions would be held where artist had to compete for commissions. At less than 20 years old, de Rossi would compete in one such competition, for which “… [she] had to make a marble bust of a local nobleman to prove she could sculpt the human form…” (Schwartz 15) she would win this competition and the commission.

The Baroque period saw many influential artists and sculptors, however, for the purpose of this assignment I am going to reflect on the works of Bernini and Caravaggio. Bernini’s sculpture, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa and Caravaggio’s painting, the Crucifixion of St. Peter will be what I am going to discuss. Both artists rose to prominence during the Baroque era by employing the artistic techniques unique to the era and playing into the vast influence the Catholic Church held over creativity of this period.

This Revival was a “comprehensive effort composed of four major elements: 1. Ecclesiastical or structural reconfiguration. 2. Religious orders. 3. Spiritual movements. 4. Political dimensions.” (Laberge) One of the most passionate Catholic who took part in Counter Reformation is Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a sculptor, architect and a painter. Bernini’s best stone art work, called Ecstasy of Santa Theresa, (Appendix 2) is a marble sculpture of a Catholic Saint who at the time of the sense was actually in her 50s. However, Bernini portrays her as a young woman in her 20s. Santa Theresa had a vision of the love of God appearing to her as a gorgeous young man, an angel, who pierced her body, with the golden arrow of divine love. She wrote about this vision and responded to it spiritually and physically. It is important to point out that Bernini’s intention was the reference to sexual pleasure as a religious experience. He meant to draw people back in to the Church with such alluring art works.

The Italian Renaissance was an explosion of the arts in Italy, not only in painting and architecture, but in sculpture as well. Over the span of about eighty years, sculpture became transcendent during this time. Sculpture style has evolved over the course of many years from something that was not just considered philosophical or just simply aesthetic, but to something that involves and combines both. One artist that started this shift was Michelangelo. Michelangelo created breathtaking statues, and because of his innovative thinking and style, he paved the way for other extraordinary and visionary artists like Bandinelli and

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was born on December 7, 1598 in Naples, Italy to a mannerist sculptor named Pietro Bernini (“Gian Lorenzo Bernini”). When Gian Lorenzo Bernini was little, his father would often take him to his projects, which then sparked Bernini’s interest on sculpting. With Bernini now starting to sculpt and being quite good at it, he caught the attention of Pope Paul V and Annibale Carracci (“Gian Lorenzo Bernini”). Since Pope Paul V and Annibale Carracci took interest in

Perhaps it was by it’s great size, the fact that it is on display right in the center of the room, or the intense red and bright gold glistening with the light shinning over it. The two things I noticed just by looking at it were the subject of the painting and the odd flatness depicted. The painting is clearly of Virgin Mary with Christ in her arms. There are two angels floating above her head on either side holding pink, yellow, and white flowers and ribbons with Hail Mary written on them in Spanish. Both Christ and Mary’s garments are of the same vibrant red cloth with intricate gold detailing. The flatness of her dress and of Christ was rather odd and certainly made it stand out. Upon reading the didactic text I found out that the painting is of a statue which was on special occasions paraded around the city, on a platform like the one depicted, to transmit its holiness. I also found out that the purpose of the contrast between the flatness of the garments and everything else was suggests that the painter wanted to emphasize the richness of the textiles rather than their spatial features. The man on the bottom corner was more than likely the man who commissioned the painting in such grandeur and extravagant manner mostly as a symbol of his status and to show that he could afford such a

Known to be the greatest sculptor of the 17th century and the creator of the Baroque style is Gianlorenzo Bernini. He was born on Dec. 7, 1598 in Naples, Italy and son to sculptor Pietro Bernini. Bernini’s father gave him his first art lessons as a child and by the age of 10 he was making great progress. Bernini began making sculptures and paintings. He was widely known for being such a young artist. In 1623 Bernini became the head builder for the church of St. Peter in Rome. The sculptor died on Nov. 28, 1680 in Rome, Italy. (Hillard)

Donatello around the mid 15th century creating a turning point in sculpture be adding meaning to his creations as he watched them grow. Sarah McHam, wrote in her article titled “Donatello’s Bronze David and Judith as Metaphors of Medici Rule in Florence” the power of Donatello’s bronze sculptures and how they signaled a start for Florence during the Medici’s Rule. The main argument of this article focuses on the iconography and symbolism used in Donatello’s “David”, and “Judith and Holofernes.” Both are bronze and commissioned by the Medici family and located near each other. Both don’t have much in common outside of their placement and the idea of using old Greek and Roman poses, and the idea of a hero and placing it in modern times. Another concept is the inspiration for “Judith” might have been through a story titles “Policraticus” which emphasis murder and how powerful that sculpture was in presenting that concept.

In 1408, I was back in Florence at the workshops of the cathedral and completed the life-sized marble sculpture, David. It has a Gothic style and an expressionless face. It reflects the influences of sculptors of the time. David is probably one of my most famous works. I also developed my own style with figures that are much more dramatic and emotional. Between 1411 and 1413, I sculpted the marble figure, St. Mark. In 1415 I completed the marble statue of a seated St. John the Evangelist for the cathedral in Florence. Around 1425, I began a partnership with Italian sculptor and architect Michelozzo. WE went to Rome and made several architectural sculptor tombs, including the tomb of Antipope John XXIII and the tomb of Cardinal Brancacci. In 1430 Cosimo de’ Medici assigned me to do another statue of David but this time in bronze. Then in 1443, I was called to the city of Padua by the family of Erasmo da Narni. In 1450, I completed a bronze statue called Gattamelata. It showed Erasmo riding a horse with full battle dress. Finally in 1455 I returned to Florence and completed Magdalene

The Italian Baroque style of art was established by the Catholic Church to bring individuals focus back to the church. This is also known as Counter Reformation. The artwork was often very elaborate, large in scale, showed movement and contained religious objects that glorified the Catholic Church (Armstrong). Another trademark of this time was the ability of the artwork to evoke emotions (Hollander). It was their attempt to show people they must lean on the church to be successful. If there is one piece of art that displays all of these characteristics perfectly, it is the Baldacchino by Bernini. This is a magnificent piece that one could stare at for hours and probably not take in all of the details. The scale of the Baldacchino is enormous. The Baldacchino is located in St. Peter’s Basilica and made of bronze and stands ninety-three feet high

Paul by Alessandro Algardi is a crucial start to the exhibition. This statue is the only piece in the exhibition where the executioner has yet to take the sword to the victim’s neck. Thus it is the first step in what will be a chronological journey through the exhibition. Not only is it critical to have this piece for the beginning but also the end, as it mirrors the last piece in the exhibition as I will discuss later. Another reason to include Beheading of St. Paul is because Baroque sculptors are often overlooked due to Bernini’s popularity. Because of its location in a church I doubt Beheading of St. Paul would be able to be put on loan. Instead I would request a marble casting of the original sculpture to be made as they did for Michelangelo’s Pieta when it came to the St. Paul Cathedral in St. Paul

Indeed, it is not possible to imagine someone could compete with Gianlorenzo Bernini in feeling of the Baroque style in sculpture. Thus, the most prominent works of the artist, known for