Architect Drawings : A Selection of Sketches by World Famous Architects Through History

Bernini, Gianlorenzo (1598–1680)
Sketch for the Fountain of Four Rivers, 1646–1647, Museum der bildenden Künste,
Leipzig 7907r, 32.9 35cm, Pen and ink, black chalk
Gianlorenzo Bernini was born in Naples in 1598. His father was a Florentine sculptor, and from an
early age he showed creative talent. It was in Rome that Bernini lived, and completed most of his
architectural and sculptural projects, until his death in 1680. His buildings represent the fluid and
expressive qualities of the Baroque while revealing his interest in sculpture and theatrical design.
Throughout his career, he received numerous projects for the Church, beginning with a commission
for Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Although Bernini’s beginnings were distinctly classical, the
Baldachin for St. Peter’s and his later churches such as St. Andrea al Quirinale describe the movement
effects of the baroque. The elliptical piazza in front of St. Peter’s is one of his most celebrated
projects.
The use of preparatory drawings and sketches were typical of Bernini’s design process (Wittkower,
1997). He employed preliminary sketches for creative inspiration. He did not believe in overworking
a sketch, but instead moved to an empty space on the page to try out new thoughts. They became
increasingly precise as he arrived at a solution; as they remained in the realm of exploration, of conceptual
beginnings (Lavin, 1981).
This page of sketches is distinctive of Bernini’s style and process. The Fountain of Four Rivers in
Piazza Navona in Rome (Figure 2.4) is well known and one that has been discussed by historians
Rudolf Wittkower and Irving Lavin. This sketch displays an important relationship between the
architect/experienced sculptor who was concerned with the assembly of the stone blocks for carving,
and the artist who was compelled to capture form on the surface of stone.
Pope Innocent X Pamphili, although first working with Borromini, accepted a design for the fountain
in 1647 from Bernini. The fountain was to be located in front of St. Agnes and utilize an obelisk
transported from the Circus of Maxentius. This sketch, from 1646–1647, shows images distributed
densely across the page. Many are iterations for a sculptural base, showing the figures in abstract form.
One can imagine Bernini drawing on the page left to right, since the sketches to the right appear more
fully developed. The figures envisioned for the sculptural base all have the same theme, as Bernini was
not searching for form, but refining his ideas. These (approximately) ten sketches seem to be expressing
similar perspective views, as the diagonal opening in the center moves from bottom left to top
right in each alternative. Some seem relatively unfinished as he moved on to the next iteration. Most
of the figures were studied in profile and drawn abstractly, with heads represented only as circles, so
that Bernini could visualize the composition using fast strokes combined with shading.
The most unique and interesting aspect of the page concerns the alternatives for the sculptural figures
interspersed with sketches exploring possibilities of assembly and construction. Bernini was
studying the connection between the obelisk and its base and considering how the plinth would be
perceived. The fact that Bernini was both an architect and a sculptor has been revealed in the way he
explored the stacking of the blocks, either carved out or balanced. He was discovering how the
sculptural form could best be achieved, while accounting for ways to span the grotto-like opening in
the center of the fountain.
Bernini was seeking the impressions of light and dark composing the sculptural form. The sketches
show volume and massing rather than specifics, evoking the fluid movement of the sculpture so distinctive
of their author’s baroque style. The technique suggests how the fountain might look with
water flowing over, or from, it. The expressive techniques of this sketch display Bernini’s thinking, as
he explored both the internal structure and the external carving.
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