Galleria Borghese

the Borghese.

The Borghese Museum, which is

spectacular.

That

So there's this painting in Rome that I've known about for years before I ever stood in front of it.

And so this summer on our honeymoon, we were in Rome in, um, August while visiting the Borghese Gallery, which highly recommend if you've never been there.

Some of the most stunning work, the most historic work, like the work that's in your history books, um, tons of Berninis there.

Like, it is absolutely stunning.

And yet in those 37 years, he managed to become one of the central figures of the High Renaissance to work for popes, to paint the School of Athens, to design architecture, to study ancient Rome, and to leave behind an enormous body of work that would influence Western painting for centuries, and still today.

The Girl with the Unicorn belongs to his earlier years when he was working in Florence and encountering the revolutionary ideas of Leonardo da Vinci.

The Borghese Gallery dates the painting broadly to Raphael's early period, around 1506 to 1509, although some scholars have proposed an earlier date of around 1504 to 1505 if the sitter was indeed Maddalena Doni as the bride-to-be.

And this brings us to the painting itself.

Today, we step inside Salon IV of Galleria Borghese in Rome to look at one of the single greatest masterpieces of early Baroque sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, The Abduction of Proserpina.

It's the story of the seasons and how bewitching a god always has unforeseen consequences.

Carved between 1621 and 1622, when Bernini was just 23 years old, this life-sized Carrara marble catches a violent, dramatic climax with unprecedented emotional intensity.

Imagine giving away a statue of this caliber made by the great Bernini.

Shortly after its completion in 1622, Scipione gifted the statue to Cardinal Ludovico Ludovici, nephew of the new Pope Gregory XV, to gain political favor.

it remained at the villa ludovici for centuries until the italian state acquired it in nineteen o eight and returned it to galleria borghese where it sits to-day Bernini's dominance only grew under subsequent popes.

Pope Urban VIII of Barberini declared it was Rome's great fortune that Bernini lived during his pontificate.

He named Bernini architect of St. Peter's in 1629, where he created the monumental bronze Baldacchino.

[upbeat music] Bernini freezes this exact microsecond in solid white Carrara marble.

When you look at Apollo and Daphne in the Borghese Gallery today, you see a miracle in stone.

Apollo's fingers are just grazing her waist, but he's already too late.

Her smooth skin is encased in rough, paper-thin tree bark.

In an astounding irony, he lived out in real life the drama of his Apollo and Daphne.

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Armchair Italy.

Next time you find yourself at the Borghese Gallery staring into the marble eyes of Daphne or Costanza, remember the fiery, complex man behind the chisel.

Until next time, ciao.

I am of an optimistic turn of mind, and Francois has never failed me yet.

How did the Borghese Gallery go?" "Very well.

I met Mr. Dessart there, and I met the king outside." "Ah, I hope His Majesty was enjoying good health." "He seemed to be.

I didn't stop to speak to him, but there was a boy in a group of seminarists near us who called out, 'Viva il Papa!' just as he passed." "And what happened?" Sibert inquired.

You do not wanna be disappointed.

I know so many people that wanted to go to the Borghese Gallery in Rome, and it, it's, the tickets are sold out, like, well in advance, and-

Months in advance.

Months.

And her brother was Napoleon Bonaparte.

Today, we're visiting Rome's Borghese Gallery to explore Antonio Canova's magnificent Venus Victrix, a sculptural masterpiece of pure genius, divine myth, family drama, and a touch of Preacher's Daughter from Footloose.

I'm your host, Anthony Capozzoli.

If you step into room one of Rome's breathtaking Galleria Borghese, your eyes are immediately drawn to a glowing marble figure lounging on a plush couch.

As a side note, this is the true beginning of the Trojan War.

We'll get into why in a moment.

This particular statue is located in Salon 1 at the Borghese Gallery.

The end of the Trojan War is symbolized by a statue of Aeneas and Caius and Ascanius by Bernini in Salon 6, which I'll also be covering in a future episode.

La scultura incarna l'ideale neoclassico di equilibrio e grazia, catturando l'attimo che precede il contatto fisico tra i due amanti.

La versione originale si trova al Museo del Louvre a Parigi, ma esiste anche una splendida riproduzione eseguita dallo stesso Canova, conservata nell'elegante Galleria Borghese di Roma.

Questo breve viaggio personalissimo e certamente non esaustivo nell'arte è finito.

Ti invito ad arricchirlo lasciando un commento su quelle che sono le tue opere d'arte preferite, italiane e non.