Light and Shade

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Bernini: Sculpting In Clay at the Kimball Art Museum

Many know him best from his iconic depiction of Apollo andbrDaphne. Others have been so lucky as to see his work all over modern Rome, asbrvital today as it was 400 years ago.

During that time, Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) broughtbrsculpture to new heights, elevating the form by infusing it with realness andbrlife. His pieces, created over a 70-year career, still stand in today's Rome,bradorning piazzas, fountains and cathedrals. Widely considered the Michelangelobrof his day, Bernini was the greatest sculptor of the 16th centurybrand laid the groundwork for what would become the baroque movement by infusingbrhis work with drama and naturalism.

But before Bernini took a chisel to stone, he prepared forbrhis work through models and sketches. Fort Worth's Kimball Museum of Art bringsbrBernini's models and sketches together for Bernini: Sculpting in Clay, openbruntil April 14. Both scholars and lovers of Bernini's work have enjoyed thebropportunity to better understand the artist through the study of these works.brThe pieces have even been used to confirm Bernini's authorship in the cases of severalbrdisputed works. “This is the type of groundbreaking exhibition that the KimbellbrArt Museum is known for,” says Eric M. Lee, the Museum's director.

The exhibit brings to life Bernini's artistic process andbrlays open his fertile imagination. He typically began his work with quickbrsculptural sketches — bozetti — similarbrto the drawings a painter might make before committing to a larger work. Laterbrhe would move on to clay models — modelli— often done in terracotta. These models were used as previews for benefactors,brto win commissions or as guides for the assistants who completed his work. Withbra vivid imagination and working rapidly, Bernini often switched betweenbrsketching and molding, using both media to explore his work before he committedbrto stone or bronze.

The casual viewer will enjoy the intimate tour through Bernini'sbrsculpting studio. “[The exhibit] not only examines Bernini's artistic processbrin clay, but it also enables the viewer to establish a personal relationshipbrwith the artist by opening a portal into his extraordinary mind,” says Lee. Hisbrlong-celebrated works come alive as the steps taken to create them are exposedbrfor all to see through the exhibit's 40 clay sculptures and 30 drawings.

“With over 70 magnificent works of art, seen in the light ofbra new understanding of the creative process, the exhibition brings a masterbrsculptor's genius to life once again,” Lee says.

Photo Credit:   

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Kneeling Angel, 1672

Terracotta

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts.brAlpheus Hyatt Purchasing and Friends of the Fogg Art MuseumbrFunds (1937.63). Imaging Department © President and Fellows ofbrHarvard College 

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