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Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius

Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius is a sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, made when he was twenty years old and now housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. The life-sized group depicts a scene from the Aeneid in which Aeneas leads his family from burning Troy. It shows three generations together: Aeneas carries his father Anchises on his shoulder, while his young son Ascanius follows behind. Aeneas is shown with a lion skin draped around his body, emphasizing his divine lineage through Venus. The work is influenced by earlier art, including Michelangelo, Pietro Bernini, Raphael, and Federico Barocci, and it reflects the sculptural style that brought Bernini early recognition in Rome.

A marble sculpture of Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius showing a man carrying an older man while a child clings to his leg.
Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius, a marble sculpture by Bernini, shown in a gallery setting.
June 2014 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius in white marble, showing a man carrying an older man with a child clinging to his leg.
The marble sculpture Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius displayed on a pedestal in a decorated room.
October 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius marble sculpture showing a man carrying an older bearded figure on his shoulders with a child beside them.
Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius, a marble sculpture displayed in the Galleria Borghese.
June 2014 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Marble sculpture of Aeneas carrying Anchises on his shoulders with Ascanius beside him in a museum room.
Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius depicted in marble, displayed among other artworks in an ornate gallery setting.
October 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Marble sculpture detail of Ascanius beside the leg of Aeneas, holding a small vessel and looking upward.
Detail of Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius showing the child Ascanius in marble.
June 2014 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleAeneas, Anchises and Ascanius
Original title in FrenchEnée, Anchise et Ascagne
Original title in SpanishEneas, Anquises y Ascanio
TypeSculptural group
StyleItalian Baroque
Original title in source languageEneias, Anquise e Ascânio

Creator

ArtistGian Lorenzo Bernini
Artist nationalityItalian

Historical context

Datecirca 1618–1619
Artist's age at creationAbout 20–22 years old
CommissionerCardinal Scipione Borghese
Commission statusFirst of four sculptural groups commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese from Bernini
Other works in the commission seriesThe Rape of Proserpina, Apollo and Daphne, and David
Historical significanceBernini's first major work and one of his earliest sculptural groups; it helped establish him as a highly promising sculptor

Discovery and provenance

Later historyThe sculpture was stolen in 1808, moved to Paris during the Napoleonic period, returned to Rome after the Napoleonic Wars, and was later moved from room to room
InfluencesInfluenced by Michelangelo's Risen Christ and Christ with the Cross, Pietro Bernini's John the Baptist and Saint Matthew with Angel, Raphael's Fire in the Borgo, Federico Barocci's Flight of Aeneas, Caravaggio's Saint Jerome, Domenichino's Last Communion of Saint Jerome, and Michelangelo's Tondo Doni
Artist's stated inspirationBernini said he was inspired by the Borghese Gladiator
Date at original display locationFrom October 1619
Original display locationVilla of Scipione Borghese outside Porta Pinciana, Rome
Possible collaboratorPietro Bernini, Bernini's father, is often thought to have assisted; some accounts say he handled the first stage and overall composition, though documentary evidence later confirmed Gian Lorenzo Bernini's authorship
Patronage contextBernini was gaining renown in Rome through his father and minor commissions when the work attracted Scipione Borghese
Attribution historyEarly attribution and dating were disputed; Domenico Bernini dated it to 1613 and later scholars revised it to circa 1618–1619 on the basis of a 1619 payment note for the pedestal

Location and ownership

Current locationHall of the Gladiator, Galleria Borghese, Rome
Current display statusCurrently exhibited

Physical characteristics

ScaleLife-sized group
BaseCurrent marble base installed in 1909 by Pietro Fortunati; the original support had festoons and architectural ornaments and was later replaced by a wooden support
MaterialMarble
Number of figuresThree

Appearance

Stylistic qualitiesGreat realism, simplicity, dramatic emotional expression, and strong psychological dynamism
Technical qualitiesShows Bernini's growing mastery of marble, including distinct textures for the soft skin of Ascanius, the taut skin of Aeneas, and the wrinkled skin of Anchises
CompositionAscending, spiral-shaped composition

Iconography and meaning

SubjectAeneas leads Anchises and Ascanius out of burning Troy, taken from Book II of Virgil's Aeneid
Alternative namesRoman Piety; Dear Burden
Depicted rolesAeneas carries his elderly father Anchises on his shoulders while Ascanius follows with the sacred fire from the Temple of Vesta
AttributesAnchises carries a vessel containing the ashes of the ancestors; the vessel is topped with two small statuettes of the Di Penates, Roman household gods
IconographyAeneas' divine lineage is emphasized by the lion skin draped around his body; the lion skin traditionally signifies power and is often associated with Hercules
MeaningThe sculpture presents the three ages of man—childhood, maturity, and old age—and the transition of responsibility from father to son
MeaningIt also evokes the tragedy of human life, inevitable decay, and the founding of a new Roman civilization after Troy's destruction
Depicted figuresAeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius

Significance

Art-historical significanceSeen as part of the transition from Mannerist sculpture toward Baroque style and as a manifesto of bodily movement and technical mastery
Critical receptionContemporaries and later scholars were astonished by the work; opinions remain divided, ranging from restrained praise to enthusiastic acclaim