Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers as a Baroque Barometer of Scientific Revolution
The death of Pope Urban VIII in 1644 and the subsequent election of Innocent X marked a significant shift in authority within the Papal States, diminishing Gian Lorenzo Bernini's influence. Innocent X, hailing from the Pamphilj family, ousted the Barberini and their supporters, resulting in the destruction of Bernini's campanile towers for St. Peter's Basilica. Nevertheless, Bernini regained prominence and was commissioned to create the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona, thanks to the influence of Donna Olimpia Maidalchini. The fountain's design, which includes a lion and palm tree representing Viterbo, reflects Evangelista Torricelli's vacuum experiment, challenging Aristotelian principles. This era also coincided with Isaac Newton's birth in 1643, signaling a shift in scientific understanding and prefiguring modern art's engagement with the concept of void.
Key facts
- In 1644, death of Pope Urban VIII and election of Innocent X caused power shift in Papal States.
- Bernini was sidelined and his campanile towers for St. Peter's were demolished after Borromini's criticism.
- Bernini secured commission for Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona.
- Donna Olimpia Maidalchini, Innocent X's sister-in-law, may have influenced the choice.
- Fountain features lion and palm tree, symbols of Viterbo, alluding to Donna Olimpia.
- Bernini's design makes obelisk appear to rest on a void, echoing Torricelli's vacuum experiment.
- Torricelli's experiment in 1644 demonstrated existence of vacuum, challenging Aristotelian physics.
- Isaac Newton was born in 1643, the year before these events.
- Andrea Sacchi's Allegory of Divine Wisdom in Palazzo Barberini appears heliocentric.
- The void later reappears in modern art: Moore, Giacometti, Klein, Cage.
Entities
Artists
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini
- Francesco Borromini
- Andrea Sacchi
- Henry Moore
- Alberto Giacometti
- Yves Klein
- John Cage
Institutions
- Papal States
- Barberini family
- Pamphilj family
- St. Peter's Basilica
- Piazza Navona
- Palazzo Barberini
- Università della Tuscia
- Museo Laboratorio delle Arti Contemporanee
- Artribune
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Viterbo
- Piazza Navona
- St. Peter's Basilica
- Palazzo Barberini