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Gianlorenzo Bernini personified the style and era that we call the Baroque. He dominated almost the entire seventeenth century, with Rome being his primary stage. "In Marble, travertine, stucco, and gilt; in painting, through glass and shimmering water, sculptured space and channeled light, Bernini left his imprint on the Catholic capitol, the indelible stamp of genius" (Scribner, 7). Throughout his many masterpieces Bernini was able to create another realm, one of excitement and imagination, yet one that was highly naturalistic and emotional. Bernini was also a very pious Catholic and his world was one of religious fervor, this also being seen in his masterpieces. He wanted his audience to see and feel the greatness and passion of the Catholic religious experience, the experience that he felt within his religion. Gianlorenzo Bernini was born in Naples on December 7, 1598. His father, Pietro, was a Florentine sculptor who had moved to Naples to practice painting. There he met Angelica Galante, a young Neapolitan girl. Pietro Bernini was considered on of the best sculptors of his time and was thought to be highly creative (Wallace, 13). Pietro’s style exemplified the refined passionless style of late Mannerism that soon led into