Brief Biography-Giovanni Lorenzo, or Gianlorenzo Bernini, sculptor, painter, and architect, was born in Naples in 1598. He was the son of Pietro Bernini, a sculptor responsible for many decorative works for churches in Rome and Naples. Bernini’s most noted work may be the Baldacchino, which stands with four columns over the high altar in Saint Peters in Rome, constructed as Bell Composto, meaning the Beautiful Whole, where sculpture, architecture and painting converge. As chief architect of Saint Peters, he built the tomb of Urban VIII and later the Tomb of Alexander VII, including many embellishing assignments in and around the Vatican. However, his most spectacular architectural accomplishment is the colonnade in front of Saint Peters. In addition, he designed fountains, the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi being his most prominent. King Louis XIV engaged him to work on the Louvre, but he failed with this commission and only produced a bust and statue of the King. In France, his title is Le Cavalier Bernin. Bernini was also a writer and painter. His self-portraits are in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, the Galleria Borghese, Rome and the Prado, Madrid; nevertheless, few of his paintings are extant. He died in Rome in 1680.