The Sculptor

Bernini, the Master Sculptor (1598-1680)



Self-Portrait as a Mature Man (1630-35), Galleria Borghese, Rome
Rape of Persephone (1621-22), Galleria Borghese, Rome




Ecstasy of St. Teresa (1647-52), height = 11' 6", Santa Maria della Vittorio, Rome



Cardinal Scipione Borghese




Apollo and Daphne (1622-25), Galleria Borghese, Rome


















The Exhibit at the National Gallery of Canada


The exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada includes 50 artworks, including 27 sculptures, 10 paintings and 13 works on paper. Most of the treasures are by Bernini. But there is also the handiwork of some of his contemporaries, including Alessandro Algardi and Giuliano Finelli.

The National Gallery of Canada's exhibit included the following works:



Costanza Bonarelli (1635-38), Museo Nazionale, Florence

Francesco di Carlo Barbrini (1623)

Thomas Baker (1638), Victoria and Albert Museum, London


Scipione Borghese (1632), 78cm, Galleria Borghese, Rome

Clement X


Alexander VII Chigi (1667), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Antonio Cepparelli (1622), Museo d'arte Sacra di San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome

Pope Paul V Borghese (1600), Borghese Gallery, Rome

Pope Urban VIII Barberini (1632), National Gallery of Canada

Francesco d'Este (1650-51), Galleria Estense, Modena

Maria Cerri Capranica (1640) by Finelli, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

The show was assembled by, and first exhibited at, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. A retooled version of the exhibition travelled to Ottawa, and after that, it will travel to the current home of the Costanza bust, the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence.

Bernini in Rome Today


Piazza Navona

Bernini left his mark on Rome, building churches, palaces and squares. He decorated the principal city squares with highly original fountains, the most famous being the spectacular Fountain of the Four Rivers in the Piazza Navona. It incorporates an ancient Egyptian obelisk raised high over a hollowed out rock – seemingly defying gravity.





The Piazza of St Peter's was built by Bernini for Pope Alexander VII in 1656-67.


Sant'Andrea al Quirinale (1658-1665, Rome

This small Baroque church is one of Bernini's great works. An oval convex entry porch extends into a small forecourt, formed by two concave walls. The plan is a transverse oval with the entrance on the short axis opposite the presbytery. A thick edge with recesses, alternately rectangular or ovate, houses portals and chapels and supports the oval dome with clerestory windows and a central glazed lantern cupola. The quality of light is evanescent, as it illuminates the white and gold stucco work of the dome and the rich colors of inlaid marbles of the walls and floor. (from JY, GreatBuildings.com)



Where to Find Bernini in Rome
by Ellen Singer

The following table lists Bernini's works in Rome by type
(S=sculpture, A=architecture, F=fountain)

Location Type Work
San Pietro S Altar of the Capella dei Sacramento
S Balconies in the pillars of the dome
S Baldicchino
S Cathedra Pietro (apse)
S Ciborium above St. Peter's tomb
S Constantine the Great (main landing of Scala Regia)
S Pasce Ovesmeas (marble relief inside portico above the central door
A Piazza and colonnade
A Scala Regia (staircase from Vatican Palace to St. Peter's)
S St. Longinus (niche of NE pillar of the dome)
S Statues over the colonnades
S Tomb of Countess Matilda (right aisle)
S Tomb of Pope Alexander VII
S Tomb of Pope Urban VII (in Cathedra Pietro)
Ponte Sant' Angelo S Angel sculptures (copies)
Santa Maria in Monserrato S Bust of Pedro Foix de Montoya
San Pietro in Montorio S Raimondi Chapel
Piazza Navona F Fontana dei Quattro Diumi
F Fontana dei Moro (central sea god)
Sant' Agostino S Two angels above the high altar
Palazzo Spada A With Borromini
San Lorenzo in Damasco (P.d.Cancelleria) S Tomb of Alessandro Valtrini (entrance wall)
San Francesco a Ripa S Ecstacy of Beata Ludovica Albertoni
Porta del Popolo S Inner face decoration
F Acqua Acetosa (outside the porta)
Santa Maria del Popolo S Sculpture in Raphael's Chigi Chapel
Palazzo Montecitorio A Begun by Bernini, completed by Fontana)
San Lorenzo in Lucina S Bust of Gabrielle Fonsera (4th chapel on right)
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva S Elephant sculpture in piazza
S Bust of Giovani Vigevano (left aisle, pillar between 3rd & 4th chapels)
S Tomb of Carinal Domenico Pimentel (in a narrow passage at the east end of the church)
Gesu S Monument to San Roberto Bellarmino
Piazza di Spagna F Fontana della Barroccia
Sant' Andrea delle Fratte S Angel with crown of thorns
Palazzo Odescalchi A Facade only
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj S Bust of Innocent X
Santa Maria in Aracoeli S Memorial of Carlo Barberini (on entrance wall)
Memorial inscription for Urban VII (entrance)
Palazzo dei Conservatori S Head of memorial statue of Carlo Barbarini
S Memorial statue of Pope Urban VIII
Villa Borghese S Amalthea goat
Piazza Barberini F Fontana di Tritone
F Fontana delle Api
Sant' Andrea al Quirinale A
Palazzo del Quirinale A Narrow wing running along Via del Quirinale only
Santi Domenico & Sisto S Decoration of 1st chapel on right, Noli Me Tangere sculpture
Museo e Galleria Borghese S Aeneas, Anchises & Ascanius
S Apollo & Daphne
S Busts (2) of Pope Paul V
S Busts of Cardinal Scipione Borghese
S David
S Goat Amalthea with Infant (Jupiter or Zeus)
S Pluto & Prosperpina
S Truth Unveiled by Time
Santa Maria della Vittoria S Cornaro Chapel - Ecstacy of St. Theresa
V. Quattro Fontane at V. XX Settembre F Quattro Fontane (one on each of the corners)
Palazzo Barberini A
Santa Prassede S Tomb of Bishop Giovan Battista Santoni
Santa Bibiana A Facade only
S Santa Bibiana (above the high altar)





Bernini grave at Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore