Self-Portrait as a Young Man
Dublin Core
Title
Self-Portrait as a Young Man
Description
Bernini’s Self-Portrait as a Young Man, painted in 1623 at the young age of 25, is done in oil paint on a 38 cm by 30 cm canvas. The painting is in the Galleria Borghese in Rome as a part of the collection of Scipione Borghese [1].
The portrait, featuring Bernini’s image from the shoulders up, is set over a green and brown background. Berninis chest faces the left, and he looks forward directly at the viewer. With arched eyebrows and piercing eyes looking straight forward, Bernini looks alarmed in the image.
Though much of Bernini’s work is in uncolored sculpture, he shows a mastery of his understanding of color through his painting. By extending hints of yellow and green from the background to the highlights on his face, he develops a coherent looking image. Bernini further shows his skill as a painter in his anatomical accuracy of the color zones of the face: undertones of yellow in the forehead, sanguine red in the cheeks and nose, and blue-green around the chin.
Bernini shows sculptural techniques in his portrait. He has carved out features and placed in details as he would in a marble sculpture. Looking at the right eye region as an example, Bernini carved out the eye socket as delineated by the angles running down the nose bridge and brow bone. Within this structure, the eye is detailed. Bernini would have used a similar method carving marble - first blocking out pieces, and then carving out details within [2].
Bernini has a strong understanding of planes as demonstrated in his brush strokes. He avoids blending, as is visible with the highlights from brush strokes placed across the forehead. Additionally, the brush strokes along the collar create texture for a seemingly simple, yet highly dimensional component. In addition to showing “unity of arts” in his ability to master several media, Bernini’s use of sculptural elements in his self-portrait show his ability to meld ideas across media.
[1] “Self-Portrait as a Young Man.” Galleria Borghese. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://galleriaborghese.beniculturali.it/en/opere/self-portrait-as-a-young-man/.
[2] Rowland, Ingrid D. “Bernini: He Had the Touch.” The New York Review of Books. NYREV, July 21, 2020. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/06/04/bernini-he-had-touch/.
The portrait, featuring Bernini’s image from the shoulders up, is set over a green and brown background. Berninis chest faces the left, and he looks forward directly at the viewer. With arched eyebrows and piercing eyes looking straight forward, Bernini looks alarmed in the image.
Though much of Bernini’s work is in uncolored sculpture, he shows a mastery of his understanding of color through his painting. By extending hints of yellow and green from the background to the highlights on his face, he develops a coherent looking image. Bernini further shows his skill as a painter in his anatomical accuracy of the color zones of the face: undertones of yellow in the forehead, sanguine red in the cheeks and nose, and blue-green around the chin.
Bernini shows sculptural techniques in his portrait. He has carved out features and placed in details as he would in a marble sculpture. Looking at the right eye region as an example, Bernini carved out the eye socket as delineated by the angles running down the nose bridge and brow bone. Within this structure, the eye is detailed. Bernini would have used a similar method carving marble - first blocking out pieces, and then carving out details within [2].
Bernini has a strong understanding of planes as demonstrated in his brush strokes. He avoids blending, as is visible with the highlights from brush strokes placed across the forehead. Additionally, the brush strokes along the collar create texture for a seemingly simple, yet highly dimensional component. In addition to showing “unity of arts” in his ability to master several media, Bernini’s use of sculptural elements in his self-portrait show his ability to meld ideas across media.
[1] “Self-Portrait as a Young Man.” Galleria Borghese. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://galleriaborghese.beniculturali.it/en/opere/self-portrait-as-a-young-man/.
[2] Rowland, Ingrid D. “Bernini: He Had the Touch.” The New York Review of Books. NYREV, July 21, 2020. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/06/04/bernini-he-had-touch/.
Creator
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Source
“Self-Portrait as a Young Man.” Galleria Borghese. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://galleriaborghese.beniculturali.it/en/opere/self-portrait-as-a-young-man/.
Publisher
Galleria Borghese
Date
1623
Contributor
Meena Gudapati
Format
38 x 30 cm
Type
Painting
Coverage
Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy
Files
Citation
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, “Self-Portrait as a Young Man,” ARTHIST 256 - Italian Baroque Art - Fall 2021, accessed October 22, 2026, https://www.baroque.dahvc.org/fall-2021/items/show/325.