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. In addition, he was a painter (mostly small canvases in oil), a man of the theatre (he wrote, directed and acted in plays, as well as designing stage sets and theatrical machinery) and a designer of 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.

Bernini possessed the ability to depict dramatic narratives with characters showing intense psychological states, but also to organise large-scale sculptural works that convey a magnificent grandeur. His skill in manipulating marble ensured that he would be considered a worthy successor of Michelangelo, far outshining other sculptors of his generation. But his talent extended beyond the confines of sculpture to a consideration of the setting in which it would be situated, synthesising sculpture, painting and architecture into a coherent conceptual and visual whole.