4 of the best Baroque SCULPTURES and their works

The Baroque was more than an artistic style. It was a cultural period that encompassed all the sciences and the arts, although it is in art where the ideology and the political, social and religious climate of the time were most clearly reflected. The Counter-Reformation, the economic crises, and the rise of modern states are some of the great episodes of the modern and Baroque eras.

art turned more passionate, dramatic and effective, seeking to surprise and provoke the viewer's response. Characteristics that can also be reflected in the sculpture. In this lesson at unPROFESOR.com we offer you a selection of the best baroque sculptors and their works.

Index

1. Characteristics of baroque sculpture
2. Baroque sculpture background
3. Giovanni Bernini (1598-1680), the most important Baroque sculptor of the 17th century
4. Alonso Cano (1601-1667), a versatile artist
5. Pierre Puget (1622-1694), the great master of the French Baroque
6. Francois Girardon (1628-1715), master of decorative sculpture

The Baroque took place between the second half of the 16th century to the beginning of the 18th. A style that developed in Europe, spreading throughout the Americas, hand in hand with religious and political tensions between Catholics and Protestants.

The characteristics of baroque sculpture most prominent are the following:

• The sculptures have great expressive and dramatic force.
• It was used for decoration of palaces, religious buildings and for the ornamentation of public spaces both exterior and interior.
• The most common materials were bronze and marble, in addition to polychrome wood and stone. The latter especially for outdoors.
• The sculptures are monumental and they are inspired in religious subjects and in daily subjects,
• Wanted to print theatricality, intensity and strength to the works.
• was contributed realism, using the contrasting technique to create that dynamism and that sensation of movement.

The baroque sculpture had as background therenaissance sculpture, also drawing inspiration from classical Greek and Roman sculpture.

The Mannerism led artists to search for their own particular style, in addition to introducing a taste for form serpentine in the composition of the figures. This shape soon became a hallmark of Baroque sculpture.

Miguel Angel opted for this style in works such as the dying slave (1516). With her, this artist became one of the great referents for baroque sculptors.

Bernini was the outstanding figure of baroque sculpture. He was the son of the Florentine sculptor, Pietro Bernini, who worked for Pope Paul V in Rome.

Bernini began working at the age of 15, receiving his first major commission at age 20: the statues for Cardinal Borghese's villa.

His works are characterized by:

• an intense dramatics.
• The design of the sculptures to be contemplated from different points of view,
• The introduction of composition serpentinata or the spiral.

His work had a great influence among the rest of the European Baroque sculptors.

Outstanding works

Among the main works of Bernini stand out:

• Rape of Proserpina (1621-1622) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Borghese Gallery)
• Apollo and Daphne (1622-1625) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Borghese Gallery)
• David (1623-1624) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Borghese Gallery)
• The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-1652), by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Santa Maria Della Victoria, Rome)
• Fountain of the Four Rivers, Rome (1648-1651)
• The Baldachin of Saint Peter
• The tomb of Pope Alexander VII inside Saint Peter's Basilica, the altar for the Church of Santa-Maria della Vittoria in Rome.
• The Elephant Fountain (1665-1667)
• Angels for the Sant Angelo Bridge in Rome (1667-1669).
• Angel with Lance (1667-1669) Sant Angelo Bridge, Rome.

Cano was another of the most important baroque sculptors. He worked as a painter, sculptor and architect, a clear example of the humanistic ideal within the artistic panorama of the Spanish Golden Age.

He was a true genius who learned to carve wood from his father, Miguel Cano, a master assembler and altarpiece architect.

His talent for drawing and his knowledge of the wood carving techniques they made him a remarkable sculptor.

Between his plays stands out:

• The Immaculate Conception (1655, Granada Cathedral)

Puget was also painter and draughtsman. He trained in the Italian Baroque, ahead of his time. Therefore, he did not find his place within the French court and was considered a classical author.

However, many recognized his creativity and influence of the sculptural work of Michelangelo and Bernini.

Among its main baroque sculpture works they find each other:

• Saint Sebastian (1663-68)
• Milo of Crotona (1682)
• Perseus and Andromeda (1684)

Girardon he was another of the most important baroque sculptors. In fact, he was the sculptor of Louis XV and participated in the decoration of Versailles. In addition, he was head of the team of court sculptors.

Between his plays stand out:

• The Bath of the Nymphs
• The Rape of Proserpina
• The Richelieu Monument
• The equestrian sculpture of Louis XIV

If you want to read more articles similar to Baroque sculptors and their works, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• BORSI, Franco. Bernini. Akal Editions, 1998.
• CEADA SANTANA, Abraham. Italian baroque sculpture as a source of inspiration: influences and references in my artistic production. 2021.
• GONZALEZ, Juan Jose Martin. Baroque sculpture in Spain, 1600-1770. Chair Editions, 1983.
• HERMÁN, Vicente Méndez, et al. Spanish Baroque sculpture. The stories of Spanish Baroque sculpture. Exlibric, 2016.
• ORTEGA, Macarena Moralejo. From Caravaggio to Bernini. Reason and Faith, 2016, vol. 274, not 1417, p. 439-450.
• STOPS, Antonio Rafael Fernández, et al. Spanish Baroque sculpture. New readings from the Golden Age to the knowledge society. ExLibric, 2016.