Renaissance and Baroque art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Renaissance and Baroque art - Essay Example Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) was a great sculpture and considered as the foremost exponent of the Baroque style. He was a man of many talents, having designed some buildings, wrote plays, did some paintings and staged also entertainment spectacles; he was however, most noted for his sculptures and bust portraits of the rich and powerful people of his time. He worked as a sculpture in the service of some rich Italian families as his patron of the arts, more notably in service of the Borghese family and two popes which secured his work in St. Peter's Basilica. Needless to say, Bernini was greatly influenced by the demands of his patrons, who in many ways, wanted his art works to depict their religion. This resulted in a Baroque style which combined physical details with some spiritual aspects or themes, in particular the use of light in subtle ways that highlight religious worship. His favorite material in sculptures was marble. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564) is considered as the foremost example of a Renaissance Man. He was equally very good in a number of fields of interest, such as a writer, poet, sculptor, painter, architect and engineer although majority of his achievements were in the arts. Michelangelo (as he is more commonly called for this shortened name) is best known for his fresco paintings in the Sistine Chapel although his output in other disciplines were truly prodigious and indicative of his genius based on his versatility and excellence.