iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

🎨 Ludovisi Ares 🏛️ Palazzo Altemps Bernini restored this ancient sculpture, refinishing its surface and supplying a missing foot. He may also have added the tiny Eros behind Ares; a striking contrast between war and desire. Antiquity became something Bernini could actively reshape not simply admire.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

🎨 The Sleeping Hermaphroditus 🏛️ Galleria Borghese Bernini added a mattress to an ancient sculpture of the sleeping Hermaphroditus—and made hard marble look astonishingly soft. The body sinks into the fabric, complete with folds, seams and depressions. An ancient figure transformed for Baroque Rome.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

🎨 The Rape of Proserpina 🏛️ Galleria Borghese Bernini freezes the moment Pluto abducts Proserpina. She twists and fights while his fingers sink into her thigh as though the marble were flesh. Cerberus lurks behind them. Violence, movement and impossible realism collide in one Baroque masterpiece.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

We’re back with our penultimate giveaway in our year-long collaboration with @artherstory.bsky.social, and this month, we’re putting your art knowledge to the test! 🎨🧠✨ 👉 Take the quiz here: forms.gle/uZo4XRW8g7XM... Winners will be announced on 5 October! ⏳🎉 Good luck — and no Googling! 😉🎨

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

🎨 Neptune and Triton 🏛️ V&A, London This wasn’t designed for a museum pedestal, it was a fountain. Neptune twists with his trident while Triton clings to his leg, ready to blow his conch. Water, movement and sculpture combined to create a theatrical Baroque spectacle. #Bernini #BaroqueArt

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

🎨 Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius 🏛️ Galleria Borghese Bernini’s first major commission shows three generations fleeing Troy: Aeneas carries his father Anchises while leading his son Ascanius. Past, present and future become one moving body. Rome’s future depends on carrying the past forward.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

🎨 Damned Soul and Blessed Soul 🏛️ Palace of Spain, Rome One face looks upwards in serene salvation; the other screams in terror and despair. Once understood as souls destined for heaven and hell, they may instead depict a satyr and nymph, but the contrast remains unforgettable.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

🎨 Saint Sebastian 🏛️ Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid Sebastian after being shot with arrows: exhausted, vulnerable, on the verge of collapse. His body twists into an S while his gaze turns towards God. Neither alive nor dead, suspended between physical suffering and spiritual transcendence.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

🎨 The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence 🏛️ Uffizi, Florence Bernini shows Saint Lawrence being martyred, but his face is unexpectedly calm. His body twists in agony while his gaze turns upwards towards God. Physical suffering is real, but faith allows the soul to transcend it.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

🎨 A Faun Teased by Children 🏛️ Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York This lively sculpture shows Bernini's early genius for movement. Created with his father Pietro, the faun, putti, animal and branches seem to burst in every direction. Bacchic imagery may hint at pleasure, lust and restraint.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🎨 Bust of Giovanni Battista Santoni 🏛️ Santa Prassede, Rome Already, he makes Santoni feel intensely alive: realistic features, a turned head and an expression full of character. Even as a child, Bernini was learning that sculpture could become part of its architecture.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

🎨 The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun 🏛️ Galleria Borghese, Rome Often considered Bernini’s earliest surviving sculpture, this playful mythological scene already shows his genius: interacting figures, expressive gazes, and contrasting marble textures.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

🎨 Self Portrait 🏛️ Galleria Borghese, Rome Bernini was the quintessential Baroque artist: a sculptor, painter, architect and urban planner who dominated Rome for over 70 years. A prodigy from childhood, he became the favourite artist of successive popes and helped shape the Rome we know today.

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

In July 1610, Caravaggio died before he could return to Rome. We’ve followed him from Roman taverns through murder, exile and his final masterpiece. Here, his story ends. In September, a new Story from the Art begins: Gian Lorenzo Bernini. #Caravaggio #Bernini #StoriesFromTheArt

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

🎨 Martyrdom of St Ursula (c.1610), Naples Caravaggio’s final painting. The arrow has struck. Ursula looks down, almost processing what dying feels like. Her killer already regrets it. And behind her, Caravaggio watches from the darkness. Then he disappears. #Caravaggio

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

🎨 David with the Head of Goliath (c.1610), Rome Goliath is Caravaggio. David may be Caravaggio too — his younger self holding the severed head of the man he became. Punishment, guilt, mercy. Take my head in paint. Spare it in reality. #Caravaggio #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

🎨 John the Baptist (c.1610) — attribution disputed If genuine, Caravaggio’s final John. A young man lies upon blood-red cloth, staring towards something unseen. Alive, but surrounded by the colour of his death. Waiting for what Caravaggio has already shown us. #Caravaggio #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

🎨 John the Baptist (c.1610), Rome At first, he looks bored. Look longer and it becomes sorrow. A tired young man surrounded by signs of what awaits him: a sacrificial ram, blood-red cloth, darkness closing in. Not yet prophet. Not yet martyr. #Caravaggio #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

🎨 The Denial of St Peter (c.1610), New York Three figures. Three accusations. Three denials. Peter recoils in fear: “I don’t know him.” Judas betrayed Christ by moving closer. Peter betrays him by pulling away. Different motives. Betrayal all the same. #Caravaggio #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

🎨 The Tooth Puller (c.1609), Florence — attribution disputed Caravaggio? Probably not. But his influence is everywhere. A tooth extraction becomes raw theatre: pain, curiosity, laughter. Ordinary life seen through Caravaggio’s eyes. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

🎨 Adoration of the Shepherds (c.1609), Messina No glory. No spectacle. Just a tired mother, a vulnerable child, and shepherds who kneel in silence. For Caravaggio, the Nativity is sacred because it is profoundly human. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

🎨 The Raising of Lazarus (c.1609), Messina Lazarus rises, but still looks dead. A skull lies beside his hand as he reaches toward Christ. Life returns. Death refuses to leave. One of Caravaggio’s most haunting miracles. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

🎨 Nativity with St Francis and St Lawrence (c.1609) — stolen in 1969. One of Caravaggio's gentlest works: Christ lies on the ground, Mary sits exhausted, the miracle unfolds in silence. The painting vanished. Its absence still haunts art history. #Caravaggio #LostArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

🎨 Annunciation (c.1608), Nancy A woman, an angel, and darkness. No spectacle — just the moment Mary begins to understand. An empty chair hints at the ordinary life that's about to change forever. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

🎨 The Burial of St Lucy (c.1608), Syracuse Caravaggio skips the martyrdom and paints the burial. Lucy is almost lost beneath towering walls and working grave diggers. Sainthood offers no escape from death — only the quiet reality of loss. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

🎨 St John the Baptist at the Well (c.1608), Valletta — attribution debated A thirsty boy kneels to drink. Only a reed cross hints at his identity. Caravaggio, perhaps, strips away the saint until only humanity remains. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

🎨 Sleeping Cupid (c.1608), Florence Cupid sleeps... or does he? Broken bow, discarded arrows, lifeless body. Caravaggio blurs the line between sleep and death, asking whether love itself has fallen silent. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

🎨 Beheading of St John the Baptist (c.1608), Malta The execution has already begun — and failed. Caravaggio captures the terrible moment before it is finished. Violence becomes labour, horror becomes real. His only signature appears in the saint’s blood. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

🎨 Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli (c.1608), Florence Not a ruler, but a veteran. The Maltese cross declares his identity; his weathered face tells the rest. No display, no bravado — just the quiet authority of a life spent in service. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

🎨 Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page (c.1608), Louvre Armour gleams. A baton signals command. A page carries the helmet. More than a portrait, this is power made visible — a ruler and the hierarchy that sustains him. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

🎨 Ecce Homo (c.1607), Prado “Behold the man.” Christ is no longer being tortured. He is being displayed. Pilate’s gesture points not just to the crowd, but to us. The painting asks a simple question: what do we do when we look? #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

🎨 St Jerome Writing (c.1607), Valletta An old man writes by candlelight, a skull beside him. Not learning, but urgency. The candle burns down, death waits, and the work remains unfinished. Late Caravaggio at his most haunting. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

🎨 The Flagellation of Christ (c.1607), Naples Caravaggio strips the scourging down to flesh, pressure, and endurance. No spectacle. No escape. Just Christ bound at the centre of methodical violence. Suffocating in its intimacy. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

🎨 Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (c.1607), London No triumph, no spectacle, just exhaustion after violence. Salome turns away, the old woman grieves, the executioner barely reacts. Caravaggio paints what brutality leaves behind. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

🎨 Christ at the Column (c.1607), Rouen The scourging hasn’t begun but everything points toward it. Whip raised, body bound, tension unbearable. Not violence itself, but the moment before it breaks. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

🎨 Crowning with Thorns (c.1607), Vienna Christ bends beneath the pressure as the crown is forced down. No miracle interrupts the scene. Only exhaustion, flesh, and deliberate violence. Suffering made brutally physical. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

🎨 Madonna of the Rosary (c.1607), Vienna The faithful kneel beneath a heavy heaven. Poor, weary, reaching upward. Caravaggio turns devotion into something crowded, physical, deeply human. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

🎨 David with the Head of Goliath (c.1607), Vienna No triumph here. Just a boy, a sword, and the severed head still dripping from violence. David looks away, unsettled. The act is over, but its weight remains. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

🎨 Crucifixion of St Andrew (c.1607), Cleveland Bound, not nailed, Andrew endures on the cross. Frail body against brute force below. Martyrdom becomes spectacle, but one woman alone looks with compassion. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

🎨 Seven Works of Mercy (c.1607), Naples Caravaggio turns seven acts of mercy into one crowded night scene. Chaotic, dark, overwhelming. Mercy doesn’t descend cleanly from heaven. It struggles through the streets. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

🎨 Supper at Emmaus (1606), Milan The same revelation, but a different Caravaggio. No theatrical shock. Just quiet recognition in the shadow of exile, loss, and exhaustion. Late Caravaggio whispers where early Caravaggio shouted. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

🎨 St Francis in Meditation & Saint Francis in Prayer (c.1606) Two haunting, disputed works: Francis alone with skull, scripture, and silence. Not ecstasy, but retreat. Spiritual reflection stripped to darkness and mortality. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

🎨 Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (c.1606), Rome No angels, no spectacle, just a woman in darkness. Head back, tears forming. Not transformation complete, but in motion. Divine experience made private. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

🎨 Death of the Virgin (1601–1606), Louvre Mary lies fully dead — no glory, no ascent. Just grief, weight, and human loss. Caravaggio strips away divinity to make mourning unavoidable. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

🎨 Madonna & Child with St Anne (c.1606), Rome Installed for 8 days, then removed. Too human, too real. Mary guides Christ as he crushes the serpent. Not effortless, but learned. The sacred, uncomfortably close. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

🎨 Saint Jerome Writing (c.1605), Rome From thought to action. Quill in hand, time running out. A skull nearby: mortality presses on every word. Work made urgent, knowledge made lasting. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

🎨 Saint Jerome in Meditation (c.1605), Montserrat Alone with thought. No books, just a skull and silence. Not scholarship, but the weight before it. A body, a mind, and the certainty of death. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

🎨 Christ on the Mount of Olives (c.1605) — lost in 1945 A quiet warning. Christ wakes Peter, pointing toward unseen betrayal. Not the act, but the dread before it. Now only a shadow of what followed. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #LostArt

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

🎨 Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew (c.1604), Hampton Court A quiet invitation. Christ turns away as they hesitate. Fish in hand: past and future held together. The moment before everything changes. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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storiesfromtheart.bsky.social @storiesfromtheart.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

🎨 John the Baptist (c.1604), Rome No clear symbols. Just a boy in darkness. Identity must be recognised, not declared. The wilderness turns inward. Not prophecy, but isolation. #Caravaggio #BaroqueArt #ArtHistory

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