The artwork, titled “Aeneas and Anchises,” is a sculpture created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini during the period of 1618 to 1619. This Baroque sculpture is presently housed in the Borghese Gallery in Rome, Italy.
The sculpture depicts a powerful and dramatic scene, capturing a moment of familial devotion and physical strain. In the artwork, Aeneas, a central figure from the Trojan War, is shown carrying his elderly father, Anchises, on his shoulders. The physicality and emotion of the moment are rendered with remarkable detail and dynamism, characteristic of the Baroque movement. Aeneas’s muscular form contrasts with the frailty of Anchises, illustrating both strength and vulnerability. The intricate detailing, from the veins on Aeneas’s arms to the delicate features of Anchises, exemplifies Bernini’s exceptional skill in conveying realism and movement in marble.
