Description of the Baroque style. Sculpture "Apollo and Daphne", "The Abduction of Proserpine" (Bernini)

The art of sculpture has come to us from the depths of millennia. Classical Hellenic works of art Europe learned during the Renaissance in Roman copies. But the movement inexorably moved forward. The XVII century demanded other forms of expression of thought. So there was a "bizarre" and "strange" baroque. Sculpture, painting, architecture, literature - all responded to the call of the time.

Origin of the term

The emergence of the word "baroque" raises a lot of controversy. The Portuguese version is proposed - "pearl", the form of which is incorrect. Opponents of this trend called it "ridiculous", "fanciful", because in this style the combinations of classical forms, and also emotionality, intensified by light effects, fancifully merged.

Signs of style

Lushness and greatness, illusion and reality, deliberate excitement and some unnaturalness are all baroque. Sculpture - an integral part of it, which shows the disclosure of the human image in the conflict, with increased emotionality and psychological expressiveness of the character. Figures are given in rapid and sharp movements, their faces are distorted by grimaces of pain, grief, joy. Dynamics of images and tension created in his works by Lorenzo Bernini. With the help of a dead stone, he portrayed dramatic narratives, especially skilfully using light. Artistic superiority in comparison with contemporaries L. Bernini for our time is indisputable. Sculpture in the Baroque style was raised by this genius at an extraordinary height. She strove to become like painting through the clever transitions of light and shadow. Works can be viewed from all sides, and each time they will be perfect. This is because the material is completely subordinate to the artistic idea. The work of the Baroque sculptor, sculpture in particular, comes into contact with the environment, with the air space around it. It is Baroque that opens in nature, in gardens and parks, a new landmark in the history of secular sculpture.

How the sculptor works

Only the genius Michelangelo was able to take a block of marble and cut off all unnecessary, creating a masterpiece. The main thing is how the image in the sculptor's head is born, with what creative torments it is connected, how each detail is thought out, how the sculptor in advance sees the future result, and how he seeks to approach the imaginary ideal. So the creative people worked for centuries. The Baroque style is no exception. Sculpture was created by the same method. Lorenzo Bernini, as he himself said, subdued marble to himself, like wax.

The myth of the abduction of Proserpine

Sculpture composition "Rape of Proserpine" was commissioned by the young talented sculptor L. Bernini (1621-1622 gg.) Cardinal Scipio Borghese. The master was only 23 years old. He decided to express as vividly as possible all the feelings that arose at the time of the capture of the young Proserpine by Pluto. Happily passed the youth of the daughter of Demeter, who frolicked and drove roundelays with friends in the meadows and forests. She and her mother did not know that the powerful Zeus decided to make her the wife of the ruler of the underground kingdom of Pluto. Once, during the walk, she liked the flower. Proserpine ripped it off. It was at this moment that a gloomy ruler of the realm of shadows and dead Pluto appeared on the golden chariot from under the earth. Only Helios saw from heaven how a powerful god had seized and taken under the earth. Proserpina only had time to scream.

Sculpture by Lorenzo Bernini

The dynamic composition "Abduction of Proserpine" is well balanced and symmetrical. The powerful body of Pluto with tight biceps and carefully carved calf muscles, swollen veins and ligaments is very stable due to widely spaced legs and a forwarded knee. The figure of Proserpine winds in his hands. With one hand she pushes Pluto's head away from herself, and the other in a plea for help threw up. With her hips and her whole body, the young girl turns away from the terrible god. Tears flow down her face.
She is all - a rush up, to freedom. The delicate body of the girl grasps gently and gently the graceful fingers of God. Their bodies form a stable X-shaped composition. The first diagonal passes from Pluto's backhanded foot to the reclining head. The second is through the right leg of Proserpine, the body and head of the god. The bodies of characters and cerbera including, which is called to balance the composition, look extremely realistic. If you look at it from different angles and with different lighting, then either ominous effects or warm ones on the faces are obtained. Interesting is also the contrast of smooth, with soft roundness of bodies with shaggy wool Cerberus. Such an exciting art can be. Sculpture creates the impression that they are made of different materials. But this is not so. In addition, it should be added that the hair on the head of God seemed to be lifted by the wind, and they look extremely natural. The work "The Abduction of Proserpine" should be circumvented, then it will come to light that with a minimal amount of detail the master created a masterpiece with a completely helpless girl and Pluton unshakable in his pursuit.

The second order of Cardinal Borghese

Admired by the perfection of the work of the sculptor, Cardinal Borghese in 1622 ordered him the following composition. It was also based on the Greek myth. He was familiar to enlightened Italians on Ovid's Metamorphoses. The point is that Apollo, struck by Cupid's arrow, saw a beautiful nymph, began to pursue her. He had already overtaken her, but the beggar begged his father, the god of the river, for help, and in the eyes of the shocked Apollo turned into a laurel tree. The sculpture "Apollo and Daphne" Bernini depicts exactly the moment when the legs of the nymph turn into roots, and the fingers of the hands - in the branches with foliage. Nothing left of her, except radiant charm. Phoebus did not lose her love for her. He kissed the bark that hid the body of the nymph, and on his head put on a wreath of laurel branches. The genius of Bernini turned poetry into reality. He showed the dynamism of actions and changes. Especially Daphne. Her outfit, falling from her shoulder, turns into a bark, her hands into the branches. The expression of a nymph's face is a tragedy. God with infinite hope looks at her and does not believe that she will change. This sculpture illustrates vain love. She says that the pursuit of earthly pleasures can lead to disappointment and, moreover, to harm another person.

Both compositions are now exhibited in the Borghese Gallery in Rome.