Bernini: His Life and His Rome

It's surprising that nobody has made a movie or written a novel about the life of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), the greatest artist of the Roman Baroque, but perhaps this enthralling book will inspire someone to try. Bernini's long life had just about every dramatic ingredient imaginable. His blazing artistic genius enabled him to create some of the most memorable monuments of Rome: virtuoso marble statues of saints and mythological figures, the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona, the Baldachino under the dome of St. Peter's, and the altar of the Chair of Peter at the far end of that enormous church, to name only the most famous. But there's a lot more to Bernini's life than just his art. He was a controlling and domineering man shrewd enough to be charming and diplomatic in the presence of his social superiors. He was hot-tempered and highly-sexed, and his explosive romantic life alone--which included paying a thug to make a knife attack on his mistress, whom he discovered was having an affair with his brother--would lend itself to a steamy novel or an R-rated film. And it doesn't hurt that Bernini was also extremely handsome. Most books about Bernini concentrate on his art and pay little attention to the man behind those works, failing to question the pious platitudes, omissions and distortions offered by the artist's earliest biographer: his son Domenico. Not this book! Bernini the man-in-full emerges emerges from Mormando's pages as in no other biography of the artist. Although the author is a scholar who displays an impressive command of original sources, there's not a pedantic sentence to be found. This is a highly readable book for anyone interested in Bernini and, in a wider sense, in Baroque Rome. As the title promises, the author also presents an unforgettable portrait of that seething city, contrasting its glorious monuments, haughty aristocrats and art-loving, corrupt cardinals with the squalor and desperate poverty of the majority of its inhabitants. Learning how most Romans lived during the 1600s, it's not difficult to understand why the popes and prelates celebrated today for commissioning Bernini's grandest works were so unpopular in their own times. They spent the equivalent of billions of dollars on monuments to triumphant Catholicism (and made Bernini a multi-millionaire) while all around them the poverty-stricken Roman populace starved. A case in point is Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the obese, over-privileged nephew of Pope Paul V. He's best known for building the Villa Borghese --now Rome's most elegant museum--and filling it with an exquisite art collection that includes some of Bernini's finest sculptures. Mormando reveals, however, that Scipione was also an art thief who regularly stole what he couldn't buy, and a voracious pedophile who thought nothing of having his servants murder a boy who had refused his advances. Although this book has only black and white plates, there are plenty of books that illustrate Bernini's art in gorgeous color. No other book, however, gives such a vivid, many-faceted portrait of the artist himself, a man whose relentless, conniving ambition, frightening temper and at times out-of-control sexual impulses co-existed with deep devotion to his family and, above all, with incomparable genius as an artist. Int the end, Bernini's greatest love was his art.

About me: I'm not an artist or an art historian or anything fancy like that: I'm just an avid traveler and Rome is one of my favorite places in the world. OK, my MOST favorite place in the world. Trip after trip, I've noticed certain statues or works of art more than others... certain ones just struck me more or made me stare at them a little bit longer. Or when I get home i realize that I have more pictures of certain things than others. A few trips ago I realized that every sculpture I was drawn to had 1 artist in common: Bernini. And people would say, "Oh, that's a Bernini" -- and the name sounded familiar but I didn't know anything about him. On last year's trip to Italy I made a point of seeking out these Berninis and found myself even more interested in them, so when I returned home I started poking around for a biography. Some things looked too scholarly and highbrow, but the descriptions of this particular book made it sound like it was accessible to the regular person who just wanted to know a little something more: and that was me. I just finished the book and I'm so happy I read it. I came at this from the standpoint of "I love this man's art so much, and it's so brilliant, that I just want to know more about the person and his life and the events that shaped him." Basically, I wanted to learn where the genius came from. This book doesn't read like a DaVinci Code: the info itself is a little bit dry, but plugged into a narrative that is basically the story arc of Bernini's life, it has a continuity to it that makes it easy to read (vs being textbook-like). It's a biography and is constructed from many different sources. I imagine if you were well-educated in art or about Bernini in particular, or about Baroque art in Italy, you'd still find fantastic information in here. But for this novice, I was thrilled that it wasn't over my head: I learned something. And I feel like on my next trip to Rome, these beautiful works of art will have more context for me than they have in the past. And it made me appreciate that this author had such a passion for the subject that he went to the trouble of gathering all of this data and putting it into a book. It's a great read whether you're an art afficianado or, like me, someone who just wants to know more about the life and work of an artist whose work they admire.

On our first trip to Rome, I was struck by Bernini’s omnipresence. To the point of wondering: did this guy ever sleep? I knew little of Bernini and was interested in learning more, having no art history background. The author delivers a well written and, importantly for the curious, not dry portrait of Bernini. His impact on Rome and his legacy in that amazing city cannot be understated. Well worth the read.

One of the best art history books I have ever read. Thoroughly researched and beautifully written. Fun to read. Highly engaging. Packed with a ton of information and filled with such personality by the author. I absolutely loved this book!

This is a excellent book on Bernini and on Rome - from his point of view - in the 17th century. This is not a book about Bernini's art per se. It is more a biography of the artist and a very interesting story about his personality and his relationships. Mormando has a lot of respect for his sources, and he stays strictly with the evidence he can get. When he does not have facts , he says so. We understand his sources , their motivations and reasons for writing what they do. When I wanted to look at some piece of work, i googled it. I have been to Rome many times, now I have a reason to go again, for I discovered through this book, a few more hidden treasures that this city has to offer.

Well researched and well written! I loved learning more about Bernini, even about the aspects of his personality that were less than enchanting. If you are interested in Baroque architecture in Rome, this book clearly explains Bernini's role in shaping the city. Highly recommended.

Ever since seeing Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne I have been fascinated by his work. This biography was an absolutely engrossing read. It is much more than just a story of the man and his art. The author vividly describes the Rome of his time and what a time this was, with corruption and vice galore. I highly recommend this page turner!

It seems Rome has never been a simple or easy place to live. This life of one of it's greatest geniuses paints that truth very well. Detailed and yet fascinatingly narrative, it tells an interesting story of a prodigious creator with a large if flawed personality. A nice panorama of the age as well.