Spotlight On: Baroque Sculpture
Baroque sculpture is associated with the Baroque cultural movement that flourished from the early 17th century until the mid-18th century in Europe. It sat neatly after the renaissance, and before the Rococo movement.
Baroque sculpture sought to capture the dynamic movement of the human figure, often shown spiralling around an empty central vortex or reaching outwards into the surrounding negative space.
Baroque sculptors would create multiple ideal viewing angles in their work - reflecting a general continuation of the Renaissance’s move away from relief to sculpture created in the round. The Baroque style used contrast, movement, lively detail and grandeur to achieve a sense of awe, often for religious purposes, but also for secular ones as well.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, dubbed the Michelangelo of the 17th century, and one of the most prominent sculptors of this time, created many works for the Catholic church, with subject matter of great spiritual and religious significance, but, interestingly, some of his most iconic sculptures are of classical Greek mythology, as well as portraits of royalty and his noble patrons.
His sculpture “The Ecstasy of St. Theresa”, that depicts the aforementioned saint in the throes of religious ecstasy seems to convey the melding of the sensual and spiritual in such a compelling way that later, more prudish, generations of art critics found it scandalous.
Considering how powerful the church was at this time, it is fascinating that sculptors such as Bernini were allowed, and often even encouraged, to explore their interest in the pagan past. This can be seen is “Apollo and Daphne” a sculpture so brimming with baroque drama and dynamism that is has come to be iconic of this style. Daphne's horrified expression, and the depiction of her fingers sprouting leaves are absolutely stunning works of a true master.
Research and writing by Arielle Morris.
Image credits: top image: detail of “Apollo and Daphne”. Middle images: detail of “The Ecstasy of St. Theresa” and image in full of the same sculpture. Bottom image: “Apollo and Daphne”, all images used courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
