Baroque Art - Apollo and Daphne

 Apollo and Daphne

1622-1625

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Apollo and Daphne is a life-sized marble sculpture created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It seemed interesting enough considering it's a giant marble statue, however that seems to be a relatively common option for artists in ye olden times. Regardless, it'll be the topic for this blog.

The Artist: 

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was a Baroque sculptor born in Italy. He is considered by some to be the greatest sculptor of his time, even pioneering Baroque sculpting as it was. Bernini was commissioned by many powers, including the catholic church. Bernini lived a long life, dying at the age of eighty-one. The legacy he left behind in the art world was felt not only as he was alive, but after his death as well.

The Art:

This particular work of Bernini's is called "Apollo and Daphne". Its hypothesized time of creation was a span between the years 1622 at the earliest and 1623 at the latest, to the year 1625 which marked completion. This was one of the numerous commissions he worked on from the Catholic Church. That said, this was not carved in one sitting, as Bernini temporarily set this on the back burner to make room for a different art piece "David", which is why it took multiple years for this piece to be finished. This piece was also not created by Bernini alone. His apprentice - Giuliano Finelli aided him as well.

Aesthetic Appreciation and Analysis: 

Being a life-sized sculpture, "Apollo and Daphne" commands a certain amount of respect. There is an extreme amount of detail in the base of the statue, and the robes that the two people are dressed in look too detailed to actually be carved from marble. Despite the detail, the reason why I chose this piece is that it's very modest by nature. That's not to say that the characters are modest as they really aren't. Their robes barely cover them at all, however, it's modest in the way that there's not much going on. It doesn't carry a grandiose air about it. It's just two people albeit transforming into trees. It's not overwhelming and that's what I like about it. It makes me feel at peace really. That said I wouldn't own a copy of it as for one, it's way too big to be in my house, and two, that space could be taken up by other decidedly less awe-inspiring things.

Apollo and Daphne and the Catholic Church:

This piece was one of many commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church during the time of the thirty years war, which the Romans themselves were a part of. Considering that this piece was commissioned during this time I suspect that it was used for morale amongst the Romans. The reason why is that there's a story attached to this piece of artwork. In this story, God speaks to Apollo and says this "You will go with the Roman generals when joyful voices acclaim their triumph, and the Capitol witnesses their long processions". This explicit detail of war hints that it was a rallying cry for the Roman Catholics during the war.

The Council of Trent 

Sources:

Encyclopedia Brittanica - Hibbard, Howard. “Gian Lorenzo Bernini.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Gian-Lorenzo-Bernini.

Borghese Gallery - Bernini, Author: Gian Lorenzo. “Apollo and Daphne by Bernini.” Galerie Borghèse, 2 Aug. 2019, borghese.gallery/collection/sculpture/apollo-and-daphne.html.