TheGalleria Borghese (Italian for 'Borghese Gallery') is an art gallery inRome, Italy, housed in the formerVilla Borghese Pinciana. At the outset, the gallery building was integrated with its gardens, but nowadays theVilla Borghese gardens are considered a separate tourist attraction. The Galleria Borghese houses a substantial part of theBorghese Collection ofpaintings,sculpture and antiquities, begun byCardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew ofPope Paul V (reign 1605–1621). The building was constructed by the architectFlaminio Ponzio, developing sketches by Scipione Borghese himself, who used it as avilla suburbana, a country villa at the edge of Rome.
TheCasino Borghese was erected in an area that in the seventeenth-century was outside the walls of Rome, with the closest access being thePorta del Popolo. At the origins, the villa grounds covered an area with a circumference of nearly 3 miles.[2] The main building was designed by theFlemish architectGiovanni Vasanzio. The portico hadspolia derived from theArch of Claudius, once on theVia Flaminia.[3]
By 1644,John Evelyn described it as "an Elysium of delight" with "Fountains of sundry inventions, Groves and small Rivulets of Water". Evelyn also described theVivarium that housed ostriches, peacocks, swans and cranes "and divers strange Beasts". PrinceMarcantonio IV Borghese (1730–1800), who began the recasting of the park's formal garden architecture into anEnglish landscape garden, also set out about 1775, under the guidance of the architectAntonio Asprucci, to replace the now-outdated tapestry and leather hangings and renovate theCasina, restaging the Borghese sculptures and antiquities in a thematic new ordering that celebrated the Borghese position in Rome. The rehabilitation of the much-visited villa as a genuinely public museum in the late eighteenth century was the subject of an exhibition at theGetty Research Institute, Los Angeles, in 2000,[4] spurred by the Getty's acquisition of fifty-four drawings related to the project.
In 1808, PrinceCamillo Borghese, Napoleon's brother-in-law,[5] was forced to sell the Borghese Roman sculptures and antiquities to the Emperor. The result is that theBorghese Gladiator, renowned since the 1620s as the most admired single sculpture in Villa Borghese, must now be appreciated in theMusée du Louvre. The "Borghese Hermaphroditus" is also now in the Louvre.
The Borghese villa was modified and extended down the years, eventually being sold to the Italian government in 1902, along with the entire Borghese estate and surrounding gardens and parkland.
The Galleria Borghese includes twenty rooms across two floors.
The main floor is mostly devoted to classical antiquities of the 1st–3rd centuriesAD (including a famous 320–30 ADmosaic ofgladiators found on the Borghese estate atTorrenova, on theVia Casilina outside Rome, in 1834), and classical and neo-classical sculpture such as theVenus Victrix.
The main floor's main large hall, called theSalone, has a largetrompe-l'œil ceilingfresco in the first room by the Sicilian artistMariano Rossi makes such good use offoreshortening that it appears almost three-dimensional. The fresco depictsMarcus Furius Camillus relieving the siege of the Capitoline Hill by the Gauls. Thegrotteschi decorations were painted byPietro Rotari, and the animal decorations by Venceslaus Peter Boemo.[6]
The first hall off the Salone, is the Camera di Cerere, with marble vase depictingOedipus and the Sphinx. The second hall has a ceiling frescoed byFrancesco Caccianiga with theFall of Phaeton. The third hall houses Bernini'sApollo and Daphne.[7]
Many of the sculptures are displayed in the spaces for which they were intended, including many works byGian Lorenzo Bernini, which comprise a significant percentage of his output of secular sculpture, starting with early works such as theGoat Amalthea with Infant Jupiter and Faun (1615) andAeneas, Anchises & Ascanius (1618–19)[8][9] to his dynamicRape of Proserpine (1621–22),Apollo and Daphne (1622–25)[10] andDavid (1623)[11] which are considered seminal works ofbaroque sculpture. In addition, several portrait busts are included in the gallery, including one ofPope Paul V, and two portraits of one of his early patrons,Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1632).[12] The second Scipione Borghese portrait was produced after a large crack was discovered in the marble of the first version during its creation.
Porch and Entrance Hall: The entrance hall houses a Roman statue of Augustus, theGladiator Mosaic, as well as the sculptureThe Truth by Bernini;
Hall I of Pauline: Its walls are decorated with original antique reliefs and others dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. It houses busts of Valadier (Bacchus, Hermes), and in its center, the famous sculpture by CanovaPauline Borghese as Venus Victrix, which gave its name to the room;
Hall II of David: this hall is also called the "Room of the Sun" because of the painting on its vault representing the fall of Phaethon. The statue ofDavid by Bernini stands at its centre. It also features Annibale Carracci'sSamson in Prison, as well as Greek sarcophagi from the 2nd century;
Hall III of Apollo and Daphne: it houses Bernini's sculptureApollo and Daphne, also the theme of the painted vault at the end of the 18th century. The hall also houses Hellenistic and Roman sculptures, and works by the painter Dosso Dossi;
Hall IV of the Emperors: this sumptuous hall decorated with stucco, marble, frescoes and paintings, owes its name of Gallery of the Emperors to its Roman busts displayed along the walls. Antonio Asprucci carried out its decoration from 1778 to 1780, mixing precious materials and using the most advanced techniques of the time. The wall niches house antique statues, including theArtemis Borghese, a Greek original from the 4th century. Two major works by Bernini,The Rape of Proserpina in marble, andNeptune with Dolphin in bronze, stand alongside theFarnese Bull by Antonio Susini. The two dodecagonal tables are by Luigi Valadier and the four white marble vases with theSeasons by Maximilien Laboureur (1739-1812). The Rape of Proserpina, the paragon urns by Lorenzo Nizza and theporphyry tables and cups date from the time of Cardinal Scipione Borghese.[13] The ceiling canvases were painted byDomenico De Angelis, who took up the theme of the myth ofGalatea. The Sienese artist Giovan Battista Marchetti (1730-1800) created the perspective architecture ofgrotesques that frame them. Thefrieze painted under theimpost of the ceiling and the stucco reliefs on the walls are inspired by the theme of sea divinities. The hexagonal tiles on a blue micromosaic background, imitating the antique, were designed byTommaso Conca. The Roman mosaicpilasters are influenced byRaphaelesque models. The marble ornamentation of the floor is in harmony with thetrompe-l'oeil decorations of the ceiling;[13]
Hall IV of the Emperors
Ceiling of Hall IV
Details
Hall V of the Hermaphroditu:The Sleeping Hermaphroditus is one of the 2 copies of the original bronze sculpture ofPolykleitos. The sculpture was restored by Bernini who transformed its marble base into a mattress on which the character rests. Also, a Roman mosaic from the 2nd century representing a fishing scene;
Hall VI of Aeneas and Anchises: It houses the marble statue ofAeneas and Anchises, a work of Bernini's youth;
Egyptian Hall VII.
Egyptian Hall VII: made between 1778 and 1782, this hall, which houses numerous sculptures, including a marbleFaun on Dolphin from the Roman period, was designed by Antonio Asprucci. The decoration is inspired byAncient Egypt and is a model of the taste of the time, which mixes archaeological rarities and exotic oddities.[14] Tommasso Conca painted the ceiling, including the central canvas withCybele pouring out gifts on Egypt, and theHistory ofAntony andCleopatra on the walls. The architectural ornaments on the ceiling are by Giovan Battista Marchetti. On the floor, three mosaic fragments depictmascarons ofOcean and other marine personifications; the mosaic Roman calendar dates from the first half of the 3th century;[14]
Silenus's Hall VIII.
Silenus's Hall VIII: during the rearrangement of the 18th century, Antonio Asprucci installed the group ofLysippus ofSilenus carrying the infant Bacchus in the center of the hall, which then took the name of "Room ofSilenus". All the decoration was then arranged on the theme of Silenus. The canvas with theSacrifice of Silenus painted by Tommaso Conca is on the ceiling, surrounded by the monumental architectures of Giovan Battista Marchetti. Since 1834, theDancing Satyr has replaced the Lysippos group, now in theLouvre Museum[15] This hall is known for containing six masterpieces byCaravaggio:Boy with a Basket of Fruit,Young Sick Bacchus,Madonna and Child with Saint Anne (Dei Palafrenieri),David and the Head of Goliath,Saint Jerome, and finallySaint John the Baptist;
Hall IX of Dido: It is entirely dedicated to Italian or foreign artists of the Renaissance, such asPinturicchio,Bronzino,Raphael,Botticelli orDel Sarto. There are two "tondi", one by Botticelli (Madonna and Child with Angels) and one by Fra Bartolomeo (Adoration of the Child), as well as two paintings by Raphael, including theYoung Woman with Unicorn. Also, aMadonna and Child by Perugino;
Hall X of Hercules (or Hall of Sleep): This room was called the Hall of Sleep until the end of the 18th century because of the presence of a sculpture representing the allegory of sleep. Its name was later changed to the Hercules Room because of the paintings on the vault depicting the Labors of Hercules. Works by Italian Mannerists cover the walls, such as thePortrait of a Man by Parmesan, or theDanaë by Correggio. The famous paintingVenus and Cupid the Honey Thief by Cranach the Elder is also there;
Hall XI of Ganymede: theConversion of St Paul (1545), by Garofalo is kept there;
Hall XII of the Bacchae: It houses aPortrait of a Gentleman by Lorenzo Lotto (1535), and aHoly Family by Sodoma (1510);
Hall XIII of Celebrity
Hall XIV Lanfranco Gallery: this gallery was originally an open loggia from which one could admire the gardens behind the villa. Closed at the end of the 18th century, the loggia was transformed into a gallery, on this occasion the fresco of theCouncil of the Gods byGiovanni Lanfranco was preserved. Several works by Bernini can be seen there, as well as the terracotta statue of Louis XIV. Numerous paintings from the 17th century cover the walls, including four "tondi" by L'Albane with mythological subjects,The Prodigal Son by Guercino, as well as a self-portrait by Bernini;
Hall XV of Aurora:The Last Supper by Bassano (1546), one of the masterpieces of Mannerist painting;
Hall XVI of Flora:The Coral Fishing, by Jacopo Zucchi (1580), a student of Vasari, is kept there;
Hall XVII of Gualtieri of Antwerp: It presents works by Flemish painters, such as Francken the Younger (The Antiquarian's Shop) or David Teniers the Younger (Drinker);
Hall XVIII of Jupiter and Antiope: two of the most important works by Rubens:Susan and the Elders andLamentation over the Dead Christ, are kept there;
Hall XIX of Paris and Helen: five paintings on the vault illustrate the episodes of the Trojan prince Paris. Among the many paintings, we will remember those of Domenichino (Hunt of Diana, 1617), Annibale Carracci (Jupiter and Juno, 1602) and Giovanni Lanfranco (Norandino and Lucina surprised by the ogre, 1624);
Hall XX of Psyche (or Hall of the Centaur): the ceiling from the 18th century represents the loves of Eros and Psyche. The room is dedicated to the great Venetian masters of the 15th and 16th centuries: Giorgione (Passionate chorister, 1507), Titian (theSacred and Profane Love, 1514), Veronese, Carpaccio, Giovanni Bellini, Lorenzo Lotto, but also the Sicilian Antonello of Messina (Portrait of a Man, 1475).
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Galleria Borghese travel guide from Wikivoyage
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