Giovanni Maria Bernardoni

Bust of Bernardoni in the city park of Nesvizh

Giovanni Maria Bernardoni (* 1541 in Cagno , † 1605 in Cracow ) was an Italian Jesuit and architect who brought the Baroque style to Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania .

Life

Giovanni Maria Bernardoni was born in Cagno, northern Italy, in 1541. He worked as a stonemason until he was 23 years old and then went to Rome in 1564 to join the Jesuit order and become an architect. The order sent him to build the main church of the order, the church Il Gesù , where he worked for six years. The architecture of Il Gesù made a lasting impression on him and elements of the church can be found in many of Bernardoni's buildings. The construction was under the supervision of the Italian architect and Jesuit father Giovanni Tristano . From 1571 Bernardoni worked in the construction of churches in Abruzzo , Milan , Florence and Naples . Around 1578 Bernardoni was working in Sardinia , where he was particularly involved in the construction of the Church of San Michele in Cagliari .

In 1583 the Superior General of the Jesuit Order sent him to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania because the Grand Marshal of Lithuania Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł had asked for an architect. But on arrival in Lublin , Bernardoni was stopped by the rector of the Gdańsk Jesuit College, Christopher Warschewizki. Bernardoni stayed for three years and helped build the Jesuit school and churches in Poznań and Kalisz as well as the restoration of the Monastery of the Order of the Savior in Gdansk.

Corpus Christi Church in Nyasvish

St. Bernard Monastery in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

After Radziwill had again asked the Jesuits urgently for the deployment of an architect Bernardoni came in 1586 after Nesvizh , where he stayed 13 years. The architect supervised the work on the Nyasvish Jesuit school, which had just started. The project had been planned in Rome by Giovanni de Rossi and Bernardoni only had to make minor corrections. He also planned the construction of the Jesuit church in the city and also supervised the construction until completion in 1593. The Jesuit church of Nyasvish is considered to be the first baroque church in the area of Poland-Lithuania .

St. Peter and Paul Church

After the completion of the Nyasvish Church, Bernardoni went to Kraków in 1599 to help build the Church of St. Peter and Paul . He also designed the St. Bernard Monastery in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and the Church of St. Casimir in Vilnius . In 1605 parts of the Church of St. Peter and Paul collapsed because the foundation gave way. This, however, came from another architect. Bernardoni ordered that the foundation be dug and the walls strengthened. He died shortly before the work was finished in 1605.

Significant works

1592–1617: St. John's Cathedral in Lublin
1587–1593: Corpus Christi Church in Nyasvish
1597–1619: Church of St. Peter and Paul in Krakow
1603–1609: Monastery with St. Mary's Basilica in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

literature

Giovanni Maria Bernardoni . In: General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL). Volume 9, Saur, Munich a. a. 1994, ISBN 3-598-22749-3 , p. 549.
Stanisław Tomkowicz: Bernardoni, Giovanni Maria . In: Ulrich Thieme , Felix Becker (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker. tape 3 : Bassano – Bickham . Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1909, p. 446 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
Sante Graciotti, Jerzy Kowalczyk: L'architetto Gian Maria Bernardoni sj tra l'Italia e le terre dell'Europa centro-orientale. Fondazione Giorgio Cini, 1999.
Feliks Markowski: Zamek Mikołaja Krzysztofa Radziwiłła Sierotki w Nieświeżu. In: Kwartalnik architektury i urbanistyki. 9, Warsaw 1964, pp. 185-192.
Rūstis Kamuntavičius et al .: Artisti del lago di Lugano e del Mendrisiotto in Lituania. In: Giorgio Mollisi (ed.): Gli artisti del lago di Lugano e del Mendrisiotto nel Granducato di Lituania (from XVI to XVIII sec.). Edizioni Ticino Management, Volume 13, Number 59, Lugano 2013.

Web links

Commons : Gian Maria Bernardoni - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Michael J. Mikoś : Polish Baroque and Enlightenment Literature: An Anthology. Slavica Publishers, Columbus / Ohio / Bloomington / Indiana, 1996, ISBN 0-89357-266-7 , pp. 104-108.
↑ Valiancin Kalnin: Star way of Giovanni Maria Bernardoni. Belarussian Historical Review, Volume 11, Fascicle 1-2 (20-21), December 2004.
↑ Joseph Lepiarczyk: Bernardoni, Giovanni Maria, ditto Bernardone. In: Biographical Dictionary of Italians. Volume 9, 1967.
↑ Rūstis Kamuntavičius et al .: Artisti del lago di Lugano e del Mendrisiotto in Lituania. 2013, pp. 20, 22, 23, 25.
↑ Jerzy Paszenda: Kościół Bożego Ciała w Nieświeżu. In: Kwartalnik architektury i urbanistyki. 21, 1976, pp. 19-216.
↑ Jerzy Paszenda: Nieznane źódlo do driejów budowy kościoła Sw. Piotra w Krakowie. In: Biuletyn Historii Sztuki. 28, No. 1, 1996, ISSN 0006-3967 , pp. 40-44.

personal data
SURNAME	Bernardoni, Giovanni Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian Jesuit and architect
DATE OF BIRTH	1541
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cagno
DATE OF DEATH	1605
Place of death	Krakow

[mik_cul-1] Michael J. Mikoś : Polish Baroque and Enlightenment Literature: An Anthology. Slavica Publishers, Columbus / Ohio / Bloomington / Indiana, 1996, ISBN 0-89357-266-7 , pp. 104-108.

[2] Valiancin Kalnin: Star way of Giovanni Maria Bernardoni. Belarussian Historical Review, Volume 11, Fascicle 1-2 (20-21), December 2004.

[3] Joseph Lepiarczyk: Bernardoni, Giovanni Maria, ditto Bernardone. In: Biographical Dictionary of Italians. Volume 9, 1967.

[4] Rūstis Kamuntavičius et al .: Artisti del lago di Lugano e del Mendrisiotto in Lituania. 2013, pp. 20, 22, 23, 25.

[5] Jerzy Paszenda: Kościół Bożego Ciała w Nieświeżu. In: Kwartalnik architektury i urbanistyki. 21, 1976, pp. 19-216.

[6] Jerzy Paszenda: Nieznane źódlo do driejów budowy kościoła Sw. Piotra w Krakowie. In: Biuletyn Historii Sztuki. 28, No. 1, 1996, ISSN 0006-3967 , pp. 40-44.