Hi yes I have been there and seen all of these IRL and I have some more pictures to share:
Insanely detailed feet with veins from “Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius”
Another foot from the same statue because a) he textured underside of the foot and the folds of skin in the arch and b) can you see the light coming through the thin marble between the toes?
One of the mouths of Cerberus from “The Rape of Prosperina”.
Prosperina/Persephone’s facial expression and HAIR TEXTURE
Hades’ hair as well - this man was entirely too good at making CURLS out of ROCK.
A (poorly lit) close-up on the tree textures from “Apollo and Daphne”.
Hand, sling, and rock from “David” which I think deserves to be at LEAST as well-known as Michelangelo’s. Saw them two days apart and I prefer Bernini, honestly.
Facial expression from “David” - I just love the character in this so much.
Kind of a weird angle but look at the texturing on the sling pouch!!!
We also got to see one of Bernini’s earliest works (possibly his very first) in the Uffizi; it’s not currently on display, unfortunately, but look at this:
Forgive the poor photo quality but. He was 14 when he carved this. FOURTEEN.
Man was a straight-up wizard.
In conclusion: if you get the chance to visit the Borghese Gallery in Rome (which has the most Bernini sculptures gathered in one place), do it. The “Ecstasy of St. Theresa” is in a church a short walk away from there, too, and well worth a visit. There are also several more Berninis in churches around Rome which can be visited for free or for a nominal donation! Just… be smarter than we were and make sure you’re not trying to visit them on days they have services.
