Bernini, Gianlorenzo (Giovanni Lorenzo) (1598-1680)

Piazza San Pietro in the Vatican City, Rome, Italy. The elliptical piazza forms the entrance to St Peter's Basilica and was designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini in 1656. In the foreground, surmounted by a cross, is the Obelisk of the Vatican.

The Four Rivers Fountain (1648-51), designed by Italian painter and architect Gianlorenzo Bernini, in Piazza Navona, Rome. The fountain is crowned by an Egyptian obelisk, and the four marble figures symbolize the four major rivers known in the world at the time. It is considered Bernini's most dramatic and spectacular work. It stands in front of the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone (begun in 1652), which was designed by Italian baroque architect Francesco Borromini.

Baroque sculpture is shown at its dramatic height in the Triton Fountain, Piazza Barberini, Rome, Italy, by the Italian painter and sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).

St Peter's Square, Vatican City, Rome. View from the dome of the basilica. The square was designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini in 1656. A section of the elliptical colonnade that surrounds the square can be seen on the right, with some of the 162 statues of saints that surmount it.

Italian sculptor, architect, and painter. He was a leading figure in the development of the baroque style. His work in Rome includes the colonnaded piazza in front of St Peter's Basilica (1656), fountains (as in the Piazza Navona), and papal monuments. His sculpture includes The Ecstasy of St Theresa (1645-52; Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome), and numerous portrait busts.

Born at Naples, as a boy his skill as a carver had attracted the notice of a cardinal, who introduced him to the papal court. Throughout his long life he worked for popes and cardinals in transforming Rome. Bernini was invited to submit designs for the completion of the Louvre, Paris, but the work was given to the French architect, Claude Perrault.

Bernini's sculptural style is full of movement and drama, captured in billowing drapery and facial expressions. His subjects are religious and mythological. A good example is the marble Apollo and Daphne for Cardinal Borghese (1622-25; Borghese Palace, Rome), with the figures (baldachins) shown in full flight. Inside St Peter's, he created several marble monuments and the elaborate canopy over the high altar (1624-33). His many portrait busts include one of Louis XIV of France.