Barocco: Bernini VS Borromini.

Listen carefully to the video and help yourself with the following text

BERNINI VS BORROMINI by Christian Santini (youtube 11:58)

Rivalry pushes men to be better, to improve, to try reaching incredible levels of perfection. In art rivalry between geniuses masterpieces has often resulted in. Indeed, it was a rivalry between two men that transformed Rome into the most beautiful and modern city of XVII century Europe. (These two really hated each other. Their names are Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini). This is the story of their enmity, so let’s get to know the contenders.

Bernini was a very charming, fellow loved by everybody, always invited to the most important social events of the city - He was also an extremely passionate man, with a temper to match. When he was young in a burst of fury and jealousy he slashed his lover Costanza’s face with a razor there were whispered rumors that she had a secret love story with Bernini’s brother. Very Italian.               

But most of all, Bernini was a fantastic sculptor, probably the most talented genius of Italian art after Michelangelo’s death. However not even Michelangelo, the divine, was able to make marble breathe and flow like as Gianlorenzo did.

He was a complete artist, not only a sculptor but also a painter and a superb architect as well. Borromini, on the other hand, was a loner neurotic, irrational, sometimes aggressive, and he was always dressed in black, just like Spaniards, however he was a brilliant architect and what’s more he was a chess master engineer he knew everything about walls bricks, domes, arches, and how to design them.

His reputation was of paramount importance for him in 1649 he was working as the lead architect at the great Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. One night he called one of his workers Marco Antonio Bussone, smashing a huge stone against the church’s brand-new decorations. Borromini furious with the traitor ordered his assistants to beat him so badly that the poor guy died of his wounds. Borromini - not exactly a gentleman! We are now in front of the Barberini palace built for Pope Urbano VIII This is a good example of the competition between Bernini and Borromini. The palace was started by Borromini’s uncle, Carlo Maderno, but when he died the pope chose Bernini instead of Bernini to finish the job. Borromini was just Bernini’s assistant.

There is no friendship between the two but they collaborate gorgeously, Bernini needs Borromini's capacities as both a builder and a designer, Borromini needs Bernini because he is giving him the chance to work on a fantastic project, incredibly the palace is a successful mixture of their very different approaches. This is Bernini’s staircase a massive squared project, 62 wide steps leading guests to the piano nobile, with stages of Greek gods and heroes standing as silent observers along the way.

This is Borromini’s, a nimble snail’s shell of marble spiraling straight to hell. Style Wars, the classic and adorn versus the fluid and simple. After this Borromini’s talent is truly noticed. Eventually, in 1634 he gets his chance to shine not far from the Barberini palace. The order of the Trinitarians decided to build a church and a monastery -San Carlo alle quattro Fontane. The project was revolutionary, eccentric, brilliant, no one had ever attempted anything like that. Borromini was the architect of choice, well of course he worked for free and with low-cost materials.

Bye-bye decorations, Bye-bye angles, leaving just curves to fool the visitors eyes, just white and a lot of lights. He breaks with the classical geometry of Renaissance architecture it was an incredible success now Borromini a star.

Juan de Buena Ventura a monk of the order, wrote. “The church is so bizarre to everybody’s eyes that it seems there is nothing like that to be found so artful and capricious, so rare and extraordinary in the entire world”.

To Bernini's eyes Borromini's success was unacceptable Borromini was just his assistant, wasn’t he? some years later he gets the chance for revenge, building a new church three hundred steps away from Borromini San Carlo to prove himself and to all of Rome that he was better than his enemy. 

Sant’Andrea al Quirinale. The church was almost a slap in the face to Borromini's clean lines. It had a lot of light too, but full cold marbles intricate stucco sculptures and tons, tons of gold.

So, who won if there’s ever been a winner? who became the favorite of the Popes? who was appointed to do San Pietro famous square? and who decorated the holy bridge to the Vatican? The answer is Bernini.

He’s still considered the most important artist of Baroque Rome. He died old and rich, loved and highly regarded.

Bernini is the artist who succeeded better than anyone else in transforming his imagination and something real and exciting. Just look at San Peter Square.

And Borromini abandoned by friends and patrons committed suicide on August the 3^rd 1667 falling on his sword exactly like the Greek hero Aiax. Depression and bad temper destroyed him.

He was a troubled spirit who never learned how to accept critiques or suggestions, but his vision  of art was and still is clear and modern. And who wins now? Borromini speaks to your soul, Bernini Captivates your eyes, the choice is yours, a legacy of masterpieces, two geniuses two different ideas of architecture, one city.

RRROMA.