Galleria Borghese

                How could such a lavish palace – full to the brim with priceless artwork – ever have been the PRIVATE possession of one man? 

            This is the thought that kept running through my mind as I walked through the halls of Villa Borghese this morning.  The original owner of the place, Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577-1633), was a PROLIFIC art collector and patron of several famous artists – most notably Bernini and Caravaggio.  His private collection was not opened to the public until the early 20^th century (it was sold to the Italian government in 1902).  Imagine relaxing in the morning with Bernini’s David or Apollo and Daphne looming large over your morning coffee.  Cardinal Scipione Borghese was a high roller.

Exterior of the Galleria Borghese

                Thankfully, today the Villa is open to the public, as well as the spectacular gardens that surround it – which have effectively become Rome’s “Central Park”.  Our class arrived this morning at 11 am sharp, and stayed in the gallery for about two hours before exiting to the gardens.  What we saw inside was overwhelming to say the least.

The Borghese Gallery is all about transitions.  Every room has a theme – and not much attention was paid to chronology when organizing the collections.  It’s possible to glide seamlessly from an Egyptian-themed room to a Venus-themed room to a Caravaggio-themed room, just like that.  AND it’s often hard to tell if the works you’re looking at are classical or Renaissance in origin.  Every room is a new piece of the art and culture puzzle that has to be examined individually.

The first work we saw upon walking up the spiral staircase into the main gallery was Bernini’s Rape of Proserpine – which is based on the ancient Greek story of the Underworld god Hades (Roman Pluto) kidnapping Persephone (Roman Proserpine).  Bernini’s mastery of the marble is all in the fine details.  The depth of Hades’ fingers digging into the thigh of Persephone was particularly impressive.

The Rape of Proserpine

So who was Bernini anyway?  He was a Baroque-style sculptor, architect, city-planner, painter, and actor who lived from 1598-1680.  He is perhaps most famous for decorating the interior of St. Peter’s Basilica (which included the creation of the gargantuan bronze baldacchino canopy over the central altar), as well as sculpting the 140 Saints that peer over the colonnade on St. Peter’s Square.  He also designed many fountains in Rome – including the famous Four Rivers fountain in Piazza Navona.  

Bernini’s style is characterized by drama and emotion.  The Rape of Proserpine is an excellent example of this mobile realism, as is Apollo and Daphne.  These two pieces, along with David, garnered Bernini widespread fame – and all three were completed under the patronage of Cardinal Scipione Borghese.

Apollo and Daphne.  Daphne is half woman, half tree at this point (notice her leg is turning into a tree trunk)

Bernini's David.  Particularly impressive is the detail in the rope of the sling shot

There are many more Bernini pieces in the Borghese collection, most notably Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius, but for now I will move on to Caravaggio. 

Whereas Bernini was relatively tame and rule-abiding, Caravaggio (1571-1610) was a bit of a loose cannon.  He was frequently involved in fights, and he apparently once killed a young man – possibly over a gambling debt, though the circumstances remain obscure.  Caravaggio was always in trouble with someone as a result of his erratic behavior.  His style of artwork, however, was NOT erratic in the slightest.  Virtually all of Caravaggio’s works are characterized by a stark contrast between the light and the dark, and a masterful manipulation of light sources to illuminate the subjects in his paintings. 

Caravaggio's Boy with a Basket of Fruit.  The sensual figure and light-dark contrast are characteristic of the artist.

            Caravaggio’s paintings bridged the gap between the Mannerist and Baroque movements.  Mannerism was characterized by highly stylized poses, but not necessarily clear perspective.  Caravaggio’s subjects are no doubt “highly stylized”, but the perspective is clear – the subjects are literally spotlighted through Caravaggio’s manipulation of light.   His work is seen as having a profound influence on the style of countless other painters who came after him, most notably Rubens and Rembrandt.  

Alright.  Enough history!  So the major take-away for me today was that transitions – in this case we’re talking about art, but the theory applies to literature, music, and theatre as well – transitions between “stylistic periods” are not fluid.  They’re chaotic.  And individual artists – not time frames or abstract intellectual ideas – are who shift the style dynamic.   

            In this post, I highlighted a transitional artist in Caravaggio (Renaissance to Baroque), and a high Baroque artist in Bernini.  Both men were incredibly talented, and both shared a patron in Cardinal Scipione Borghese.  Seeing the master works of both men juxtaposed in one space made the contrasting artistic periods come to life – not as distinctive, jagged time frames – but rather as interlocking pieces in the beautiful mosaic of art, and history, and time.      

Grazie per aver letto,

Brock