On Display: Bernini's Moor
Issue date: 9/19/07 Section: Features
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Even without any art knowledge, a tourist would be amiss not to notice Bernini's sculptural masterpieces standing as fountains, altarpieces, and heroic statues throughout Rome. With a walk down the diagonal path in Harvard Yard (keep your back to the Coop) you can view Bernini's Moor: A Monumental Model for a Roman Fountain, in an altogether different setting.
When Pope Innocent X Pamphili reorganized the bustling Piazza Navona, one of Rome's major squares, he commissioned Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598- 1680) to create three fountains. One of these fountains, the Fountain of the Moor, sits in the southern end of the square. Before creating his marble masterpieces, Bernini would construct a clay model, or modello. The modellos were quick gesture sketches that represented the artist's vision for his finished work. Bernini initially sculpted a seashell suspended in air by three dolphins, but the Pope preferred a human figure. The originial modello, on display in Harvard's Fogg Art Museum, is the sketch for the marble man that stands atop the shell today.
The final statue depicts a man wrestling a large dolphin that draws inspiration from other famous works of antiquity. The figure's orientation and struggle with the sea creature envelops the viewer and its serpentine movement invites one to circle the statue, much like one would walk around the fountain in Rome. Compared to other works in the installation, the Moor is more polished, but tool marks and scratches of haste are present, distinguishing the work as a sculptural sketch.
You can view Bernini's Moor among fifteen other sketches, the world's largest collection of Bernini terracottas, at the Fogg Art Museum through November 4, 2007. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free for you and a guest with a Harvard ID.
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