The Villa Borghese was built for a cardinal who commissioned Bernini. It is home to 4 monumental sculptures by Bernini: Aeneas and others fleeing Troy; Rape of Proserpina; Apollo and Daphne; and David. When walking through the gallery, you experience the David first. The face and position of the body show the effort he’s taking in winding up the slingshot. You can see the tension in the muscles with the detail of the protruding artery. This is opposite to Michelangelo’s famous David, who is displayed as relaxed (I preferred Bernini’s).
The next sculpture we experienced was Apollo and Daphne. The movement displayed makes it look as if they are about to fly off the statue. Apollo’s clothing actually looks like it is blowing in the wind as Daphne is on the verge of slipping out of his grasp. This is a great example of Bernini’s ability to take hard marble and convey softer textures with it.
While Daphne might be about to escape Apollo’s grasp, Proserpina is firmly in Hades’ grasp. You can see the tear falling from her eye as she shoves her hand into the side of his face. His hands are imprinted in her leg and stomach as she struggles to get free. The movement and lifelike qualities that Bernini captured in these Baroque period statues are truly amazing. After seeing his, all other statues pale by comparison.
The next sculpture we experienced was Apollo and Daphne. The movement displayed makes it look as if they are about to fly off the statue. Apollo’s clothing actually looks like it is blowing in the wind as Daphne is on the verge of slipping out of his grasp. This is a great example of Bernini’s ability to take hard marble and convey softer textures with it.
While Daphne might be about to escape Apollo’s grasp, Proserpina is firmly in Hades’ grasp. You can see the tear falling from her eye as she shoves her hand into the side of his face. His hands are imprinted in her leg and stomach as she struggles to get free. The movement and lifelike qualities that Bernini captured in these Baroque period statues are truly amazing. After seeing his, all other statues pale by comparison.