Gianlorenzo Berninis Fountains
Gianlorenzo Bernini was the greatest sculptor during the Baroque period. In the late sixteenth century he was responsible for changing the structure and revolutionizing the fountains in Rome. He transformed fountains into masterful sculptural works that would be imitated by hundreds and thousands of other artists for years to come.
Berninis last major commission for Pope Urban VIII, was the Triton Fountain. It was created to be placed outside of the Piazza Barberini, the family palace of Pope Urban VIII.[i] To pay tribute to the patron of the fountain, Bernini has included the papal insignia and the Barberini coat of arms on a cartouche that is placed on the dolphins tangled tails. The Triton Fountain completed between 1642 and 1643, represents Berninis movement away from the traditional forms of fountains present in Rome. He does however use massive forms, which were highly characteristic of Roman works, but these massive forms have been transformed into something entirely new and inventive.[ii] Bernini has taken a section of the myth Metamorphoses, by Ovid that occurred after the flood as a guide to create the fountain.
King
Neptune
Put
Down his trident, calmed the waves, and Triton,
Summoned
from far down under, with his shoulders
Barnacle-strew, loomed up above
the waters,
The
blue-green sea-god, whose resounding horn
Is
heard from shore to shore. Wet
bearded Triton
Set
lip to that great shell, as Neptune ordered,
Sounding
retreat, and all the lands and waters
Heard
and obeyed. The sea has shores;
the rivers,
Still
running high, have channels; the flood dwindle,
Hill-tops
are seen again; the trees, long buried,
Rise
with their leaves still muddy. The
world returns.
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Triton Fountain, Bernini, Piazza Barberini, Completed 1642-1643. |
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Detail of the Triton Fountain, Bernini. |
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Based upon this myth Bernini placed four dolphins with their tails pointing upward in the center of a circular pool of water. Their tails join together to support a large open shell that the sea god Triton is kneeling on top of. Tritons arms are raised up over his head in order to allow the shell in his hands to be placed to his mouth. The water flows vertically from the shell. [iii] To capture the energy of the myth of King Neptune and the Triton, Bernini knew he had to impress the viewers with not only the sculptural aspect of the fountain, but also with the way water would be incorporated into the overall creation. Bernini carefully designed the fountain so that the path the water followed would be able to express such energy and emotion. To do so he made the water take several paths before it ended its journey into the circular pool below. The water first shoots out high above the shell held to the mouth of the Triton. It then falls down onto the statue of the sea god, before it splashes onto the shell in which the Triton is perched on. The last path for the water is the dripping into the pool that serves as the base for the entire piece.[iv]
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Fountain of the Four Rivers |
The Fountain of the Four Rivers, located in the middle of the Piazza Navona is Berninis best know fountain. Work on the fountain occurred between 1648 and 1651. The commissioner of the fountain Pope Innocent X, had originally planned for the artist Francesco Borromini to create the work, but his plans changed after he was tricked into seeing the designs Bernini had created for the Piazza.[v] In designing the fountain Bernini had several complicated factors to work with and also around.
The first of these tedious tasks was town planning. He had to erect a monument sufficiently large to emphasize effectively the center of the long square without disturbing its unity; at the same time the fountain- not axially related to the faade of S. Agnese- had to be attuned to the church without competing with it.[vi] Bernini chose to use an extremely natural looking and massive travertine rock placed in the center of an oval pool as the base of his sculptural fountain. The travertine base was then cut from the bottom on all four sides, allowing a viewer to see though the work so that the fountain would not obstruct ones vision from other buildings especially the Church of Sant Agneses facade that already existed on the square.[vii] The massive rock was transformed into a sculptural masterpiece by the inclusion of marble figures that represent the four rivers of the world (or the four continents known to man at this point of time). Bernini designed the marble figures/personifications of those particular parts of the world, but his assistants carried out the actual sculpting process. The Daube River was sculpted by Antonio Raggi, the Nile by Jacopo Antonio Fancelli, the Rio della Plata by Francesco Baratta and the Ganges was sculpted by Claude Poussin.[viii] Each of the rivers personifications is further identifiable by the objects they hold, the gestures they make and the plants and animals that can be found in their particular part of the world. The figure representing the Ganges River located in Asia is depicted holding an oar due to its know navigability. The personification of the Nile River is shown with his head covered, because the origin of this river was unknown at the time. A black man is used to represent the Rio della Plata River in America. He is depicted holding coins in one hand and gestures upward toward the church of SantAgnese in shock or amazement.[ix] The personification of the Danube River in Europe holds his arms up towards the coat of arms of Innocent Xs family with doves and lilies that have been on the travertine rock above one of the cuts.[x]
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The Danube |
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The Papal Insignia |
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The Ganges River |
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The Nile River |
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The Rio della Plata River |
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The second challenge Bernini faced in erecting this sculptural fountain was that he was required to include an enormous ancient Egyptian granite obelisk standing 54 feet tall containing hieroglyphic writing on its surface declaring that it had been dedicated to the sun.[xi] The obelisk had once been part of the Circus Maxentius. Bernini placed the giant obelisk on top of the travertine rock directly above the cut outs, creating the effect that the obelisk was weightless. [xii] Pope Innocent X had a last request for Bernini to carryout when creating the fountain, which was that his own personal symbol, the dove (which is also the symbol of peace and of the third person of the Trinity), surmount the entire ensemble, causing the entire fountain to stand as a glorification of the Pamphili Pope and the Catholic Church.[xiii]
Bernini had one request for the Pope when creating the great fountain. This request kept the commissioner from seeing the work until it had been completed. When the Pope saw the fountain turned on for the first time, he was shocked and over come by the beauty and natural appearance of the design.[xiv] This naturalness was conveyed through the use of materials, but more so by the way the water naturally flowed over the sculptures appearing that the overall composition was not man made, and that it could be found in nature.
Bernini was an innovator in all aspects of the arts. He was able to take stone and turn it into poetry and dramatic theatrical scenes. His transformation of fountains was the primary contributor that led Rome to become known as the great city of fountains.[xv] With out his imaginative ideas and inventions the squares of Rome and the other cities that have followed their example would not exist today.