Tempora currunt: Bernini and Heraclitus

I want stressed in this essay a concept that unifies two matters, that can also interpenetrate, through the Aesthetic discipline but now have took the different matters although it have took same physic greatness, this is the time. We are costumed to measure the time with clock or the smart phone and other, but the time of art we are costumed to consider during the centuries and never momentary; I want devoid the attention in a particular moment of sculpture, this is the Baroque, and his major exponent that is Gian Lorenzo Bernini(1598-1680); we must consider different sculptures, The David and Goliath(Fig.1)both in Galleria Borghese Rome, Italy, datable 1623-1624; Bernini took in a moment precise the actions of two protagonist, and for better understand the concept that I want express is necessary to a confront to David of Michelangelo(1475-1564), in Florence(Fig.2), datable1501; the David of Michelangelo is the moment before that the Biblical hero kills the giant, because he gazed the arrive the Goliath and he is took in the moment when he is toking the sling, and Bernini took the moment of David when he is throwing the stone and the sling; we have considered always the gesture very realist strictly to baroque art and the classic style for Michelangelo; but the critic hasn’t never considered the time, no certainly the years or century past between these two sculptures, but the human time between these two actions, that is the Heraclitean time, this is of Heraclitus(b.Ch.535-475b.Ch.), because prescind to the century and logic time past between these works, I want consider alone the momentary of these two actions, this is the concentrated glance of David of Michelangelo and the explicit action of David of Bernini, because between the take the sling of Florentine David(Fig.3) and throw the stone(Fig.1), are necessary other actions, this is pick the stone, that David has took on ground, that in conformity to Biblical tale David has picked in river and took the sling he come toward Goliath; the comment are: “Yes but so what to Bernini and Michelangelo?”, the connection is in the time; because neither Michelangelo and Bernini has represented the whole biblical tale, thereupon we can alone read the Holy Bible to know what is the actions that while are occurred; but concentrating on the specific actions of these two David, time is past, because the first action of David is gazed the Goliath(Fig.3), and after load the sling, action that nobody has represented, but we can imagine, and after to aim and throw the stone, until here nothing of original, because these are two moment  of an action; certainly, but I want consider that time that is a Heraclitean concept, this is; the action of Florentine David is a moment, but after, although Michelangelo hasn’t represented it, we can imagine that David has took the stone and loaded the sling and after he has thrown; but this action requires time and the time, although for these actions is very limited, time passes, and it is a concept purely Heraclitean; this is the David of Bernini(Fig.1) has loaded the sling and he is throwing the stone instead David of Michelangelo is again concentrated to arrive of Goliath, but time that is past between these actions is Heraclitean because these are two distinct moments that require time, whereby the Heraclitean time is passing, this is the πάντα ρεϊ, this is everything passes, hence the time between the actions of David(Fig.4) are distinct and want time, therefore Heraclitean aids us with is philosophical concept, this is πάντα ρεϊ; and the last notation; in Galleria Borghese is other work, now painting, that tells the end of this tale, this is the David with head of Goliath(Fig.5) of Michelangelo Merisi called Caravaggio(1571-1610); we can use the same concept, after the decollation of Goliath, time is past, thereby the πάντα ρεϊ of Heraclitus is again valid, time that we can imagine but that is passed, whereby we must think that time among these three actions, although very scant is past; this is a connection between the Bernini and Heraclitus, that are lived among more than a thousand years of different, but the concept of time is valid also in this moment, albeit between sculptor and philosopher are past a millennium. It is attests that the concept of Heraclitus is true because both is time some moment of David or centuries between Bernini and Heraclitus πάντα ρεϊ is always present.

Alessandro Lusana  

   

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