The Statues of Baroque and Mannerism

02/27/2024

CONTENT WARNING : The following blog post discusses topics of rape, sexual assault/abuse, and domestic violence.

Giambologna, Abduction of a Sabine Woman, 1581-83, marble, 410 cm high (Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence)

Abduction

of a Sabine Woman

Abduction of a Sabine Woman was created in 1581 by Giambologna, during the Mannerist Movement. The sculpture was done with only one single block of marble, and stands four meters high. This statue is currently located in Loggia dei Lanzi in Piazza della Signoria Palace in Florence, Italy. Abduction of a Sabine Woman, though clearly depicting a scene of sexual violence, Giambologna didn't have an exact narrative planned out for theis sculpture. The most common theories about what this sculpture is trying to tell us is either A) the woman is being abducted and assaulted by the man in her right, while her husband on the left is stuck and watches in fear, unable to save her or B) the sculpture is reference to the Sabine women/people of the Bible, and Giambologna's work is trying to tell us of the many forced arranged marriages that they had to face back in the day (one of the men could be her father, the other being the future spouse).

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Pluto and Proserpina (or The Rape of Proserpina), 1621-22, Carrara marble, 225 cm high (Galleria Borghese, Rome)

Pluto and Prosperina

(a.k.a The Rape of Prosperina)

Pluto and Prosperina was created in 1621 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, during the Baroque Movement. At two hundred and twenty five meters high, this statue was made with carrara marble (known to be the most expensive and best quality marble to use), and is currently located in the Galleria Borghese of Rome. Pluto and Prosperina depicts Roman mythology, with Pluto, the ruler of Hades, Persphone, goddess of the Underworld and forced-wife of Pluto/Hades, and Cerberus, mythology's favorite three-headed dog. The legend goes that Persephone went down to the Underworld and ate their fruit, which is considered a huge violation of the Underworld's rules. When you eat fruit from the Underworld, you are forever embedded to Pluto/Hades. Pluto and Propserina, shows Pluto kidnapping and assaulting Persephone, she tries to flee the scene, but is not successful. Persephone is then forced to take a deal from Pluto, stating that if they marry, she would only have to live with Pluto for half the year, and can live with her parents again (Zeus and Demeter), for the other half of the year. Otherwise, greater punishment was headed Persephone's way.

Now that we dove into both of these pieces, lets talk about the artists, their correspondent time periods, and the pieces' importance.

Giambologna

Giambologna, born as Jean de Boulogne, was a famous French sculptor from the Mannerist time period. He was heavily mentored by another famous sculptor of his time, Jaques Dubroeuq. Giambogna was born in Northern France during 1529 and died in Florence, Italy during 1608. Giambologna was known for his stylistic choices, both in art and his clothing, inspired by Michealangelo and the Hellenistic art period. The way Giambologna sculptures things is in a larger-than life sense, both a physical and metaphorical level, with how he addresses important themes such as war, violence, religion, and sexual assault (even if not intentional), and in how some of his sculptures have been built in all kinds of sizes. Other ways Giamologna made himself known in the art world were his work with plaster, marble, and bronze, and working not just with musuems and interior locations, but by building artwork in outer locations such as gardens. One of his other works, the Giant Apennine, looks down at a river and stands over 36ft tall !

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was born in December 7, 1598, Naples, Italy, and died November 28, 1680. Bernini was known to be a famous sculptor, artist, and architect of the Baroque time period. Growing up, Bernini first got his foot into the art world with the help of his dad, Pietro Bernini, who was also a famous sculptor at the time. Bernini went on to work very hard to really hone into his craft, earning the praise of other painters, such as Annibale Carcci, and the Patronage of Pope Paul V, hiring him to be an independent sculptor for them.Bernini's work is strongly influenced by his mentors, through the time studying ancient Greek and Roman marbles in the Vatican, and through his extensive knowledge of High Renaisaance paintings from the 16th century (probably from the Mannerist movement). Bernini is also known for working with various different kinds of marble, bronze, plaster, and displaying acute realism, as well awareness of sensual touch and texture (as we can see, both consensual and nonconsensual), in his artwork.

What is the Mannerist Movement ?

The Mannerist art movement took place in 16th century Europe. The Mannerism movement acted as a bridge between the Renaissance and the Baroque period, and an important one at that ! The Mannerist Movement was highly influential because of its more complex depictions of nude poses, dynamic compositions, and amiguity in geometric and organic shaping. According to the Metropolitan Musuem of Art , the three main characteristics that can be seen with Mannerist art are distortion of the human figure and anatomy, a flattening of pictorial/implied space, and sophistication and elegance, cultivated over time . In my opinion, the Mannerist movement shows great sopistican and elegance, in the way it depicts both positive important themes in society, and negative themes in society, such as sexual assault. In art, the word "mannerist" itself doesn't have direct definition, and is mainly used to decribe art that is overly artificial, stylistic, provactive, and designed to impress.

What is the Baroque Movement ?

The Baroque art movement took place in 17th century Europe. The Baroque art movement really mastered, in depicting the act of persuasion that should come with art (to feel something, to feel compelled or instructed to do something, to move freely as you are, etc). The Baroque Movement was also known for taking realism, dyanism, and instability in art a step-forward, making it more powerful and dramatic, in both composition and narrative. With Baroque art, the storytelling and creation of it all tells real, hard-hitting stories, rather than idealized, surface-leveled ones. With Baroque art, the use of diagonal positioning, depiction of elastcity and touch, topic of piety and asceticsm, and act of contouring + playing around with lighting is also seen more often. The term "Baroque", comes from the French word "baroqque" meaning irregularly or disporportionately shaped. Hence why this movement was called the Baroque Movement, as this period aims to celebrate the imperfections and uniqueness within art.

The Importance of Baroque + Mannerist Statues & Their Role in Depicting Sexual Assault in Art

Before researching and writing this blog post, I didn't really care for art via statues. I love art, with my whole being, but unless a statue was colorful and crazy looking (for lack of better words), statues aren't exactly the kind of art that called out to me, or would make me feel inspired. I admire the work put into statues of course, as the construction that goes into so is not easy by any means. But by researching Abduction of a Sabine Woman and Pluto + Prosperina, my mind has been changed. I find statues to be very interesting now, and though they may look plain at surface level, they still do the job in impacting the viewer, and telling a story that is worth while.

I can see the stylistic differences of Baroque statues vs Mannerist statues, as well as their respective movements, reflect their distinct social and historical contexts, by discussing and depicting topics such as religion, violence, sexual assault, romance, and so many more. The stylistics differences can also be seen in how Baroque art and Mannerist art is made, both in terms of what mediums and materials are used, and the narratives being told. The way in which Baroque artists and Mannerist artists went about creating their work was distinctly different, and yet still manages to pull us in. In my opinion, Mannerist art is more harsh-looking physically, and storytelling with Baroque movement is impactful, but simplistic in the way it presents itself. While Baroque art is more of the opposite, with smoother physical characteristic, and a more harsh form of storytelling. By observing Baroque and Mannerist artwork, it helps us have a better understanding of art history, and how we as artists talk about and make art based on what matters to us.

After writing this blog, I'm still left puzzled as to if Giambologna and Gian Lorenzo Bernini purposefully meant to depict sexual assault through Abduction of a Sabine Woman and Pluto + Prosperina or not. I think they were only trying to depict stories based off biblical and mythological storytelling, but the way in which they went about it is still so important. I feel like a lot of artists in both the Mannerist and Baroque movements, and maybe even the Rennaisance movement, didn't depict the topic of sexual assault a whole lot, and if they did, it was done in the way where the sexual aspect was glorified, and the more than negative impact sexual assault has on women was overlooked. A big reason for those artists doing this wasn't because they believed sexual assault wasn't a problem, but becuase their society deemed it as. With how normalized and forced arranged marriages were in the 16th and 17th centuries, especially in religious communities, the term "domestic violence" didn't exist for them. I read in one of the readings from Smart History for class that Giambologna said "there was not sexual violence (in my depiction of Abduction of a Sabine Woman), rather a variety of enticements by the Roman for how the women would be treated as their wives." Giambologna admits it himself, this was women's reality back in the day, and it still is. Giambolgna and Bernini didn't contribute to the glorification of sexual assault and how it was depicted in art, but rather the pain and turmoil it has on a person. Just as Giambologna and Bernini didn't, we as viewers, should also not shy away from the reality that is sexual assault. Many religious communities, cults, countries, and cultures still have forced arranged marriages, which still perpetuates rape culture, and impacts so many.

AUTHOR's NOTE : If after reading this, you feel as if you relate to the Sabine woman and to Perspehone, and are a victim of sexual assault, you are not alone. I am one myself, and I know first hand that talking about what happened is not easy, and the healing process is not linear by any means. Talk to a trusted adult or a loved one. For immediate help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. You are not alone, you are loved, and you matter in this world.

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