How my liberal arts education ruined my love of Bernini
When I was first exposed to Bernini’s work in my high school Art History class, I immediately understood why this guy is considered one of the best sculptors. Ever.
Have you seen his Apollo and Daphne? The variety of texture that he is able to create with just marble is amazing.
And his Rape of Persephone—it isn’t stone. No, they are actual people with actual flesh. You just have to see it to believe it. Such works of art leave you in complete awe of Bernini’s sculptural prowess. (Note that he was only 23 when he sculpted the Persephone. 23!).
I wish I could keep gushing about Bernini’s sculptures, but then I read Ovid’s Metamorphoses for Lit Hum, and notably, that story about Apollo and Daphne. Which reminded me that the story is basically Apollo’s attempt to rape Daphne.
So one of my favorite sculptures ever is about rape. Great.
I can say that the exact moment when my relationship with Bernini was altered for forever and for the worse was when my Lit Hum professor pointed out that even after Daphne is changed into a tree, “Apollo is still trying to rape her.” And when it dawned on me that Apollo and Daphne is about rape, I came to realize that the Rape of Persephone is about rape too. (I know it’s pretty obvious from the title.)
I’m not going to deny it, I needed to be slapped in the face like this. But it’s still weird. How as a woman can I say, “Yes, I love that sculpture about rape”? It’s ridiculous. It would basically imply that I condone rape as long as it can generate aesthetic beauty.
Which makes me feel pretty personally betrayed by Bernini. Yes, Bernini, I know you’ve been dead for forever. You probably can’t feel my hatred. But that doesn’t mean I have anything less to say: How did you make me forget that your sculptures were about rape? Rape of all things? You couldn’t have carved a particularly exquisite sculpture of ponies or puppies? Everyone likes those.
But that’s just the thing. Everyone likes (insert fluffy, cute animal of choice). And carving a sculpture on a subject that everyone likes would not be enough of a challenge for Bernini. The guy was talented. He could do anything. And he knew it. (I like to think of Bernini as the 17th-century version of Justin Timberlake in terms of his range of skills.) His prowess in sculpture-making is so good that he made me forget the subject matter, no matter how obviously it was about rape. Bernini’s skill enchanted me and I fell for it. Damn it, Bernini, why do you have to be so good?
Shouldn’t the title of his “Rape of Persephone” have clued you in earlier to the fact that his sculptures depict rape, or attempted rape?
the worst kind of commenter. Don’t just say stuff. Read the whole article (specifically the parentheses at the end of the sixth paragraph).
What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
the third worst because you quoted Billy Madison and because I’m hoping it was Ironic.
god awful
the second worst kind of commenter. Explain what you find so god awful about it or keep your bitter, useless words to yourself.
Obviously the one who wrote this.
The root of your writing while souidnng agreeable at first, did not sit properly with me personally after some time. Someplace throughout the paragraphs you managed to make me a believer unfortunately only for a very short while. I nevertheless have a problem with your jumps in assumptions and you might do well to fill in those gaps. In the event you can accomplish that, I will certainly end up being impressed.VA:F [1.9.11_1134]please wait…VA:F [1.9.11_1134](from 0 votes)
Bernini is one of the best sculptors ever. Honestly you fell in love with the sculpture because of the beauty in composition and technique and you should be able to still appreciate it. No one falls in love with a piece of art because of the story i.e. Rembrandt. You should get over childish perception and grow up and be able to appreciate art for its own sake. This is an incredibly unsophisticated stance and is exactly what the core is not meant to teach you.
Isn’t it obvious the author was only being half-hearted in her criticism of the subject matter? It’s quite clear she’s being facetious.
This whole “How my liberal arts education ruined…” series is pointless, and it just breeds negativity and poorly supported arguments about the phenomenal education we’re getting. We should be grateful that we get to immerse ourselves in art, literature, music and philosophy. Sure, it has its flaws. But you can’t call an artist or his masterpiece’s message into question like this … it’s akin to stating that because I liked the linguistic beauty of the Aeneid, I support nation-building through war.
We should appreciate art for art’s sake, while allowing it to foster critical thinking and debate about our own values. This piece does Bernini and other great masters a terrible disservice.
I read the Aeneid, and it was so beautiful that I do support nation-building through war now! I used to be a pacifist but we’re never going to get anything that beautiful again without some nation-building conducted via warlike means! C’est la vie!
the idea of “art for art’s sake” has a political agenda behind it to meant to ensure the status quo and shield certain types of art from political and social critique. womp, womp, take a class.
Lol, what’s creepy, weird or deaserpte about it? That’s a bit judgmental in my opinion. Rape and kidnapping can happen anywhere- in fact most rape occurs by people you already know- statistical fact. Kidnapping by a stranger is an extremely rare phenomenon- most kidnapping is done by a parent who takes their child from the other parent without a court order.Just use common sense. Online dating has lots of advantages, because you can eliminate certain people from consideration right up front without spending months to do it the other way. Also, you get to meet far more people and thus increase the probability of finding someone compatible with your personality and/or belief system.
this is why columbia is pretentious
Pretty sure that’s the whole point of the whole “how my liberal arts education ruined…” series…so thank you for explaining the joke
Good content, but the language was too folksy. Felt like Sarah Palin was reading it to me.
LOL
t would basically imply that I condone rape as long as it can generate aesthetic beauty.
Yes – just like so many works of art of immense beauty represent: suicide, suffering, anger, war, utter destruction… aesthetic pleasure must be understood outside the realm of ethics. As for “actually actually,” maybe your class presented a very narrow view on the whole debate of art for art’s sake but your statement is far from being some absolute truth.
These articles are dumb. The core courses make you smarter and make you think. Having another point of view does not “ruin your life.” Most students at other colleges do not even know what these things are.
goddamn right. this series is half baked, and this latest iteration is the worst yet.
of Socialist-Realist and Nazi art.
Should I stop liking it cause it depict baaaad thingiiiiess?
Or perhaps I should stop liking Mantegnas depicting Christ suffering or Caravaggios depicting tortured saints? Cause, like, it’s soooooo meaaan.
BEAUTY =/= CONTENT =/= APPRECIATION
Happy Women’s History Month.
Just wait till you take Art Hum and study the Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Quoth Simon Schama, “She’s in ecstasy, all right.”
While I understand this “How my liberal arts education ruined my…” series is meant to be funny in a witless sense (as if written by Sarah Palin, as someone stated above), I think this is the best one yet. It’s because it’s so outrageous that it brings up a very interesting point: How has our everyday culture changed so much that, something that is perfectly acceptable in the context of art would be unacceptable for a naïve average American? It also tells us about the (mainly male) point of view in the olden times, which stimulated this art. What about the rape of the Sabine women and so many other episodes in mythology? These should be appreciated in the context of the times and cultures in which they originated. An yes, indeed, the Core is meant to broaden everyone’s mind beyond that of that naïve average American.
Rapio rapere rapui raptus
Rape doesn’t necessarily mean here what you think it does. Although he definitely had sexual motives, “rape” doesn’t always mean rape.
This is actually not about rape– it is about being abducted which if you look up the definition of rape — is the definition.
In this context (for the time) rape, basically meant kidnapping. But that is neither here not nor there. The commentary was obviously written by a very young and immature woman, who has not yet learned to truly appreciate the best of art, which usually has to do with difficult and emotional topics. This is what makes it so engaging. I respect her for sharing though, an hope this experience has allowed her to grow.
Rape means abduction. Also if you think appreciating the sculpture is condoning rape, you should know that Pluto was first struck by Cupid and Cupid was told to do it by his mother. Oh, and Pluto is Persephone’s Uncle. Think critically, put the story telling into its historical framework, don’t write dumb articles.