Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) did more than any individual to create the appearance of Rome as it exists today. As the leading sculptor and architect of the Baroque era, Bernini's talents and tastes meshed perfectly with the Church's demand for an increased magnificence and intensity in religious art. The Catholic Counter-Reformation called for an image of the Church as a triumphant force, undiminished by the heretical efforts of the Protestant reformers. Throughout the city of Rome, the power of Bernini's papal patrons was reflected in the sumptuous fountains, tombs, and religious sculpture he supplied. At St. Peter's, the very heart of Catholicism, Bernini transformed the church (both inside and out) with designs whose magnificent theatricality was matched by a fervent intensity. Three major examples of Bernini's work demonstrate the nature of his enormous undertaking. The famous Four Rivers Fountain (1648-1651) (Scribner 95) in the Piazza Navona shows Bernini's ability to transform public spaces. The paired monuments at St. Peter's, the Baldacchino (1624-1633) (Scribner 71) and the Cathedra Petri (1657-1666) (Scribner 101), demonstrate Bernini's great flair for placing drama and unorthodox compositions at the service of religious experience.
From his earliest training Bernini was strongly identified with the city. He was the son of a sculptor, Pietro, who moved his family to Rome when Paul V commissioned an important work from him. As Bernini's contemporary biographer noted, this was a fortunate move for a child who was to become a remarkable prodigy. Only in Rome, Baldinucci said, could ancient and modern art of the first quality be seen in such quantity (9). In "the world's most celebrated capital, a larger arena opened for the exultant flights" of the child's "genius" (Baldinucci 8).
Though the legend of Bernini's precocious talent may have become rather exaggerated, his apprenticeship among the Vatican's ga...