Bernini and the slashing of Costanza Piccolomini [NO AI]

In 1636 Gian Lorenzo Bernini sculpted the head of his lover, Costanza Piccolomini, in marble. Two years later their affair ended in violence and the shedding of blood - Costanza's blood, at Bernini's behest. Bernini's bust of Costanza Piccolomini is at the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence. Images of the artwork used in this video are from public domain sources. This is a re-upload of a video originally published on 17 May 2023, with some re-editing and improved sound (well, louder, at least). Chapters 00:00 Introduction: Andrea Dworkin 00:28 Title 00:40 Rome 1638: the end of the affair 04:47 Sarah McPhee, Bernini's Beloved (Yale 2012) 05:24 Early life of Costanza Piccolomini 06:37 Bernini in Rome 07:44 The bust of Costanza 12:45 Face slashing 13:30 Arrest and punishment 14:07 The fate of 'fallen women' 15:12 Constanza imprisoned 17:28 Bernini absolved 19:29 Costanza: scarred but unbowed [2410] Published 5 March 2024. No AI was used in the production of this video. SOURCES & FURTHER READING Andrea Bacchi, Catherine Hess, and Jennifer Montagu, with the assistance of Anne-Lise Desmas (eds.), 'Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture' (J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles and National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 2008) Domenico Bernini, 'The Life of Gian Lorenzo Bernini' (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011) Sarah McPhee, 'Costanza Bonarelli: biography versus archive' in Maarten Delbeke, Evonne Levy and Steven F. Ostrow (eds.), 'Bernini's Biographies: Critical Essays' (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006) Sara McPhee, 'Bernini's Beloved: A Portrait of Costanza Piccolomini' (Yale University Press, 2012) Franco Mormando, 'Bernini: His Life and his Rome' (Chicago University Press, 2011) Rudolf Wittkower, 'Gian Lorenzo Bernini: The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque' (Phaidon, 1955, 3rd edn 1981)