Instructor Donna Reis

Humanities 105-77

Humanities 105-77 Summer 1998 Classmates
Tidewater Community College
Virginia Beach, VA  23456

Dear Classmates:

I wanted to tell you about the recent trip I took to the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia on July 11, 1998.  For this project I chose to move past the Civil War exhibit on the first floor and focus on the 17th century art that was on display on the second floor of the museum.  Right next to the three magnificent El Greco paintings was the piece which specifically caught my attention: an impressive marble sculpture by Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598 – 1680).  Carved and sculpted out of pure white marble, the “Bust of the Savior” appears to be Bernini’s rendition of Jesus Christ.  It appears, at first glance, to be the head of a man with long flowing hair that covers most of His face and with just enough of His upper body showing to suggest He is wearing a long flowing robe as well.  Also obvious are His arms folded across His chest with one hand facing in a palm-out gesture.  The bust is mounted on a marble stand of a light orange and white mix.

I think that Bernini’s sculpture is art because it seems to have required a great deal of imagination and creativity: two qualities that are the foundation of my definition of “art.”  The face in particular seems to capture Christ at the very prime of His life.  His face is covered with hair that flows in a way that suggests strength and hope so much more than it would fear and despair.  The way Christ’s mouth is neither smiling nor frowning but molded in an appearance of steely determination supports this.  What impressed me the most, however, was how the position of Christ’s right hand (the “hand of God” in a way) created a feeling of powerful movement, as if it was actually trying to reach out to its viewers, a very nice touch by Bernini.  The way Bernini was able to capture the essence of Christ in one moment in stone was the main reason I chose this piece over all the other pieces in the museum.

There appear to be many “technologies” involved in the sculpture’s creation.  The first and most significant is, of course, the chisel used to form the marble into the shape of a man.  The chisel represents a great development in the “technology” involved in art because it enabled the artist to move into the 3-dimensional realm of realistic representation. The success of this medium is seen in some of Michelangelo’s famous sculptures, like Pieta and David.  No longer was the artist limited to attempting to convey realism through the colors and shading and detail of an oil painting on canvas or a pencil or charcoal sketch on paper.  Through sculpture the artist was able to play the part of the creator.  He was almost like God in a way: molding and shaping and forming life out of clay and dirt.  People like Bernini and Michelangelo were able to create something out of what was at first clearly nothing but a large block of stone.  This quality of art in stone has a very important social implication.  By giving his audience something they could physically observe and touch (although of course not in the Chrysler), the sculptor is able to move the connection between fact and interpretation, between reality and imagination, between technology and the liberal arts one step closer.

Sincerely,
 
 

Jay R

Jay R <jgr5@cornell.edu> hum10577su98