Howard Hibbard (1928–1984)

An engagingly written overview of Bernini’s career which blends technical analysis with a thesis concerning Bernini’s art as “the fulfilment of the religious and political and human aspirations of his age [which] collectively form...the autobiography of the age itself.” Perhaps reflecting Hibbard’s stint at the Columbia University Psychoanalytic Clinic for Training and Research, but not in an off-putting way. His admiration for Bernini and for the scholarship of Rudolf Wittkower is evident throughout the book. Postscript added May 2021: As a follow-up I read Wittkower’s chapter on Bernini in his Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750. While the critical narrative was more or less the same, Wittkower’s analysis was everywhere deeper and more illuminating.… (més)