Baroque Sculpture

Baroque Sculpture brings movement, expressive gesture and the surrounding space into close relationship. Developing in seventeenth-century Europe and continuing into the eighteenth century, it served churches, courts, civic monuments and private patrons. Gian Lorenzo Bernini's marble groups turn biblical and mythological subjects into concentrated moments of action, while religious commissions often combine sculpture with architecture and carefully directed light. Different textures distinguish skin, cloth, foliage and other materials within a single work. Marble and bronze coexist with carved wood and stucco, reflecting regional traditions and the demands of each setting. The viewer's position can become an active part of the composition.