Gianlorenzo Bernini was born 1598 and he died 1680. Gianlorenzos father Pietro Bernini was a sculptor in Naples. In 1605 the family moved to Rome since Pietro got the mission to create a very big relief for the church Santa Maria Maggiore.

The cardinal Scipione Borghese very soon discovered what a great talant the young Gianlorenzo was. The cardinal later ordered four sculptures from Gianlorenzo:

Aeneas who carries his old father in his arms from the burning Troja

Pluto and Proserpina

Apollo and Dafne

David (some people think this is a selfportrait of Gianlorenzo)

During the Pope Urban VIII, 1623-1644, Gianlorenzo Bernini was the most popular artist in Rome and within this time he performed a lot of different assignments in St. Peter’s Basilica. One of these is the 30 meter high baldachin of the high altar.

Bernini also designed a number of fountains in Rome, to mention a few: Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in Piazza Navona and Fontana del Tritone in Piazza Barberini. Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, “The Four River Fountain”, a monumental fountain in Piazza Navona. This fountain was ordered by the Pope Innocentius X. The fountain visualises the four river Gods: the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges and the Rio de la Plata which then represented four continets. The boat shaped fountain in front of the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti is also a piece by Bernini.

Bernini’s most beautiful sculpture is considered to be the sculpture of the Holy Theresa which can be seen in the Cornaro-chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria in the Quirinale.

The sculpture Holy Ludovicia Albertoni is also a piece by Bernini and it is located in the San Francesco a Ripa church in Trastevere.

Gianlorenzo Bernini also was a successful architect. The church that Bernini probably was most happy with is Sant’Andrea al Quirinale in the Quirinale. The exterior is very simple, whilst the interior is magnificent.