This week’s post, about a favorite artist, took me longer than expected. As I mentally “scrolled through” all the art I have seen in my life, suddenly the sculptures of Bernini sprang up.
Last winter, my brother and I were fortunate enough to travel to Rome. Having studied Latin in school, we were finally able to connect “book learning” to the real world. For example reading about the Via Sacra, and then walking on it, are two very different feelings. While in Rome, because I had talked to my Latin teacher previously, I had booked tickets in advance to the Borghese museum. Our tickets had a two hour time block on them, a strange concept for a museum, that is, until we went inside.
Usually a museum is either famous because it is grand or because it houses famous art work. Only a few museums in the world can do both: the Louvre, the Borghese, and of course, the Asian Art Museum. Anyways, walking into this museum, one is first forced to face a masterful Bernini sculpture. Lots of his sculptures are rendered in marble and are scenes from important Roman history. Pictured here is the “Rape of Proserpina,” which depicts Pluto taking Proserpina to the underworld.
Bernini’s history is much too long and intricate to be a subtext, so in the future, I will write a post just about him. For now, just look at the picture above. Notice the curves, the precision, and the beauty. Why do I like it so much? I don’t think that needs answering.