ArtScandal.com

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was the leading sculptor of the Baroque era.  His spiraling serpentine virtuosity adorns St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and his work has been the subject of extensive research and debate.  His delicate busts include the likenesses of important cardinals and popes, but one in particular stands out for its raw sensuality; the bust of his lover, Costanza,the wife of Bernini’s assistant Matteo. 

Bernini used Costanza as a model on two occasions and it was said that his work was inflamed with his passion for her.  Both Bernini and Costanza were married to other people but this did not stop their affair.  The end came about in a more violent manner when he found out that she was cheating on him with his own brother!  

Bernini spied on the couple outside of Costanza’s house and followed his brother to St. Peter’s Basilica where he began beating him with an iron rod and broke two of his ribs.  Not satisfied with the beating, he returned to Costanza’s home he hired a servant to slash her face for the generous sum of two flasks of Greek wine.  Bernini was ordered to pay 3000 scudi for his offense, but lucky for him Pope Urban the VIII was able to get the fee absolved.  

To see more of Bernini’s work click here.

Czech artist David Cerny found himself amid a sea of controversy due to his tribute to British artist Damien Hirst.  In his 2005 work titled Shark he suspended a sculpted mold of Saddam Hussein in formaldehyde.  In 2006 this work was banned in Belgium and Poland.

In 1877, art critic John Ruskin wrote that artist James McNeil Whistler was asking “two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face”.  The piece in question was Nocturne in Black in Gold: The Falling Rocket.  The painting depicted an impression of a night lit by the streaks and sparks of fireworks.  

Because the opinion of art critics in the 19th century was influential and dictated the public taste, Whistler knew that this review would affect his career.  He decided to do something about the unfavorable review and took Ruskin to court.  He demanded 1000 pounds plus the court costs.  The trial was set to begin in 1878 but was postponed for over a year due to Ruskin’s declining mental health.  When it eventually did go to trial, witnesses were put on the stand to testify about Whistler’s talent and Ruskin’s authority as a critic.

After hearing from various witnesses, the jury ruled in favor of Whistler, stating that Ruskin’s review had been intentionally malicious, however they also noted that Whistler’s painting was worthy of some criticism.   Whistler was awarded one farthing, not the 200 guineas he had originally asked for, and he had to pay his own court fees.

The lawsuit was significant because it marked the merging of the conventional art aesthetic with the movement of art for art’s sake.  Though the trial damaged him financially, he eventually made up for it by receiving countless commissions.  Nocturne in Black and Gold eventually sold for four times the asking price.

To see more of James McNeil Whistler’s work click here.

What do you see?