Irving Lavin - Review: Cesare d'Onofrio - Fontana di Trevi, Commedia inedita

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Scholarly book review by Irving Lavin evaluating Cesare d’Onofrio’s edition and commentary on Bernini’s play Fontana di Trevi, Commedia inedita. The review discusses how to understand Bernini’s theater work as part of his “total” artistic personality, emphasizing Bernini’s lifelong engagement with writing, producing, staging, and acting. It also reflects on methodological issues, including dating and the interpretation of related studies and sketches.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time9 min

AccessFree to download

Review

Subject and bibliographic details

Interpretation of Bernini’s theatrical activity

Methodological considerations and dates

Concluding assessment

# Review:[untitled] Author(s):Irving Lavin Reviewed work(s): Fontana di Trevi,Commedia inedita by Gian Lorenzo Bernini;Cesare d'OnofrioSource:The Art Bulletin,Vol.46,No.4(Dec.,1964),pp.568-572 Published by:College Art Association Stable URL:http://www.istor.org/stable/3048222 Accessed:17709/200814:16 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use,available athttp://www jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms jsp.JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides,in part,that unlessyou have obtained prior permission,you may not download an entire issue of ajournal or multiple copies of articles,and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal,non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work.Publisher contact information may be obtained athttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=caa. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship.We work with theescholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon,and to build a common research platform thatpromotes the discovery and use of these resources.For more information about JSTOR,please contact support@jstor.org. College Art Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,preserve and extend access to The ArtBulletin. theyappear inDr.Vey'scatalogue,thoughthismaynot be their true chronological relationship.) How are we to understand this intensive prepara-tion?Dr.Vey ponders the question briefly(p.20)but cannot decide whether these multiple studies weredue to “extraordinary conscientiousness or indecision,”whether they reflect “a weak imagination”or the veryopposite,"an abundant fantasy which the artist founddifficult to control."I wonder whether the answer isnot to be found on another level. Throughout his life Van Dyck lived in the shadowof the genius of Rubens.For a highly gifted andobviously ambitious young man this overwhelming pres-ence must have created problems of a complex nature.It is not difficult to imagine how during those first Ant-werp years(between I616 and I62I)Van Dyck'sattitude toward the great master(in whose house heappears to have lived for some time)must have beencharged both with admiration and envy.He surelywanted to please and to impress his teacher and toshow himself worthy of his praise and protection.Atthe same time,if only unconsciously,there may havebeen resentment and a wish to rival and possibly outdohim.The paintings Van Dyck did in these years andfor which he made these numerous studies are mostlyscenes of drama and excitement,precisely the kind ofsubject for which Rubens had an unsurpassed gift.They disappeared almost completely from Van Dyck'soeuvre after he had found the subjects appropriate tohis talent,the lyrical and slightly sentimental religiousthemes,and above all portraiture,a field Rubensshunned as much as possible. For some years the young Van Dyck evidently madean intense effort to prove himself another Rubens.Straining against the very nature of his talent,heworked with tremendous concentration and under greattensions;I believe the multiple studies and sketches forhis early paintings remain as the mute witnesses of apertinacious and somehow pathetic struggle toward hisgoal.Seen in this perspective,the forced boldness in thegraphic conventions of many of these drawings alsomakes good sense,especially the introduction of heavilyinked areas and of broad contours done with the brush(see for instance figs.4,5,II,84,89,and I16).These contrasting patterns of light and dark are thegraphic equivalent of the rather coarse brushwork ofmany of Van Dyck's early paintings—and like it maybe a sign of overcompensation.One of the most femi-nine of all painters was trying,for some time

FAQs

What work is Irving Lavin reviewing, and who is the editor/commentator?

Lav in reviews Cesare d’Onofrio’s Fontana di Trevi, Commedia inedita, which includes an introduction and commentary by Cesare d’Onofrio.

Why does the review emphasize Bernini’s theater work?

The review treats Bernini’s theatrical activity as a key, difficult problem for understanding Bernini as a “total” artistic personality.

What types of activities does the review attribute to Bernini regarding theater?

Bernini is described as writing, producing, staging, and acting in plays throughout his life, with particular attention to his successful comedies from the early 1630s onward.

Aug 26, 2026

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