<P> Gian Lorenzo Bernini ( Italian pronunciation : ( ˈdʒan loˈrɛntso berˈniːni ) ; also Gianlorenzo or Giovanni Lorenzo ; 7 December 1598 -- 28 November 1680 ) was an Italian sculptor and architect . While a major figure in the world of architecture , he was , also and even more prominently , the leading sculptor of his age , credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture . As one scholar has commented , `` What Shakespeare is to drama , Bernini may be to sculpture : the first pan-European sculptor whose name is instantaneously identifiable with a particular manner and vision , and whose influence was inordinately powerful ... '' In addition , he was a painter ( mostly small canvases in oil ) and a man of the theater : he wrote , directed and acted in plays ( mostly Carnival satires ) , also designing stage sets and theatrical machinery , as well as a wide variety of decorative art objects including lamps , tables , mirrors , and even coaches . As architect and city planner , he designed both secular buildings and churches and chapels , as well as massive works combining both architecture and sculpture , especially elaborate public fountains and funerary monuments and a whole series of temporary structures ( in stucco and wood ) for funerals and festivals . </P>
<P> Gian Lorenzo Bernini ( Italian pronunciation : ( ˈdʒan loˈrɛntso berˈniːni ) ; also Gianlorenzo or Giovanni Lorenzo ; 7 December 1598 -- 28 November 1680 ) was an Italian sculptor and architect . While a major figure in the world of architecture , he was , also and even more prominently , the leading sculptor of his age , credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture . As one scholar has commented , `` What Shakespeare is to drama , Bernini may be to sculpture : the first pan-European sculptor whose name is instantaneously identifiable with a particular manner and vision , and whose influence was inordinately powerful ... '' In addition , he was a painter ( mostly small canvases in oil ) and a man of the theater : he wrote , directed and acted in plays ( mostly Carnival satires ) , also designing stage sets and theatrical machinery , as well as a wide variety of decorative art objects including lamps , tables , mirrors , and even coaches . As architect and city planner , he designed both secular buildings and churches and chapels , as well as massive works combining both architecture and sculpture , especially elaborate public fountains and funerary monuments and a whole series of temporary structures ( in stucco and wood ) for funerals and festivals . </P>
artist responsible for spreading the influence of the italian baroque style
artist responsible for spreading the influence of the italian baroque style
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini