Italy is one of the oldest European countries. It was on its land that great artists, architects, sculptors appeared. They have left us a legacy of magnificent works that mankind keeps in various museums and galleries. Borghese is one of them.
Gallery History
The history of the Borghese Gallery begins in 1660, when Cardinal Scipione Borghese began to buy up works of art and place them in the ancestral home of "Casino Nobile". After becoming a cardinal at twenty-seven, Borghese was in charge of the Vatican Museums. He was not shy about anyone and anything in order to get masterpieces of interest to him and replenish his collection. Thanks to his efforts, the works of Raphael and Giuseppe Cesare appeared in her.
The building has undergone reconstruction several times. The house got its final appearance under Marcantonio Borghese, who rebuilt the building in the classical style, expanded the halls and strengthened the walls. In 1807, most of the architectural elements and sculptures, as well as paintings of the Borghese Gallery were sold to Napoleon, which then became the property of the Louvre. To date, most of the sculptures according to the drawings of the eighteenth century have been restored. All of them are installed inside and in front of the casino "Nobile". Almost all the halls in it have individual names, and the works of the Borghese Gallery are interconnected.
Address and Location
Rome Borghese Gallery Address: Viale del Belle Arti, 131. The nearest metro station is Spagna. To avoid confusion on how to get to the Borghese Gallery, follow the simple instructions. Get to the metro station "Piazza Spagna". At the exit of the metro are signs in the direction of the gallery. It’s about fifteen minutes to go along the transitions.
After you climbed up, you should go around the ground pavilion of the station, and after a few meters you will see an old brick wall. Then there’s nothing complicated: you need to go to the intersection, cross the other side, walk past the Byron Monument and go out onto Viale del Museo Borghese. All. Then we go along this street to the very entrance to the museum with a great desire to see all the works in the Borghese Gallery.
Excursions
To get to the gallery, you do not need to stand in lines and come before daylight. But if you want to walk around the Borghese gallery with a guided tour, then you need to try, because they are carried out only individually. The cost of guide services is about one hundred and fifty euros. Tickets must be booked in advance on the official website. There, clearly indicate the time of visit and the number of people. Excursions are available in both Italian and Russian. Duration is two hours.
During this time, the guide will tell about each of the attractions stored in the gallery, give historical facts, you can take a photo. The works in the Borghese Gallery are masterpieces with a unique history that must be seen. Those who were fortunate enough to visit the museum leave good reviews about Russian-speaking guides who, with no less enthusiasm and passion, talk about masterpieces than Italian guides.
David
The height of this magnificent sculpture is only one hundred and seventy centimeters. It was created by the legendary sculptor Bernini in 1623-1624. This is an image of one of the heroes of the Bible, the main book of the Christian world, David, who was ready to throw a stone at Goliath. Bernini did not just choose this plot and this hero. In the gaze, in a tense pose, in the hands, frozen in tension, one feels all the power of hatred that David is ready to pour on Goliath. He looks at the figure of the killer and is about to ready to punish him for perfect evil. David froze in a pose, ready to throw a stone from a sling and hit the enemy.
This sculpture, like many works in the Borghese Gallery, makes us perceive immortalized in marble as real, living. Bernini was twenty-four years old when he began to translate his idea into reality, and completed work in just seven months. And this is a great achievement in itself.
Apollo and Daphne
The Borghese Gallery in Rome also holds this unique sculpture almost 2.5 meters high. The plot was born from a myth. According to him, the angel of love Cupid was so offended by the mocking and contemptuous attitude of Apollo that he punished him with unrequited love. An angel shot a love arrow in his heart, and in the heart of Daphne, daughter of the river god, an arrow that kills love.
Once Apollo met a nymph and fell in love with her. But the girl, every time she saw Apollo, ran away. And as he did not try to stop his beloved, she did not listen to him. Once she prayed that the gods would save her. The gods heard and turned Daphne into a laurel tree, forever green and fragrant. The sculpture is very dynamic, but at the same time, streamlined and soft. It is best to inspect the composition from all sides in order to fully appreciate the fullness of the images.
True
The sculptures in the Borghese Gallery are striking in their realism. For example, the composition "Truth" is a girl who sits on a huge stone. She holds the sun in her right hand and rests her foot on the globe. When the sculpture saw the light, experts considered it the most unsuccessful work of Bernini. It so happened that on the eve he was found guilty of serious mistakes that nearly destroyed the bell tower of St. Peter during construction. For the master, this was a strong blow. Work on a new sculpture helped Bernini to get out of a difficult state of mind.
"Truth" was conceived as a composition of several figures, but it remained in the form in which we see it now. However, after this work, the sculptor created the ingenious - "Ecstasy of St. Theresa." The work forever secured for Bernini the glory of a brilliant sculptor and architect.
Pauline Borghese Bonaparte in the image of Venus
Works in the Borghese Gallery also have a private history. In the halls of the museum, under the tireless supervision of specialists, there is a sculpture of one of the best masters of the early nineteenth century, Antonio Canova. By order of Napoleon Bonaparte, the most powerful person of that time, Canova created a masterpiece - a sculpture, the main character of which was the sister of Napoleon Pauline.
She was a unique girl. According to contemporaries, she combined the perfect proportions of the body, the external beauty with incredible licentiousness, which even at that time amazed people. Pauline was married to one of the members of the Borghese family, but managed to twist numerous novels on the side. Napoleon loved his sister very much, granted her titles and property. In turn, Pauline made every effort to get her brother out of prison during his high-profile political process, and then the only one asked permission to live with him in exile, on St. Helena.
Titian
A tour of the Borghese Gallery cannot be complete without familiarizing yourself with Titian's painting "Earthly Love and Heavenly Love." This picture was and remains the most mysterious work of the artist. Judging by historical documents, the painting was commissioned by an influential politician, one of the leaders of the Republic of Venice, Niccolo Aurelio as a wedding present for his wife. The picture depicts two women who personify carnal love and spiritual love, a kind of ideal union of a married couple. In the hand of a woman who personifies earthly love, there is fire, the other, its complete opposite, luxuriously dressed, calm and harmonious woman is a symbol of spirituality. Between them, little Cupid plays with rose hips.
Young man with a basket of fruits
The creator of this picture is Caravaggio, the famous Italian Renaissance artist. He was still very young, lived with the prelate Pandolfo Pucci, with great talent he painted on similar subjects.
The picture many times became the subject of heated debate among artists. It was believed that the young man in the portrait and the fruit basket in his hands were painted by different artists. However, over time, scientists came to the conclusion that such a sharp contrast in the painting was the true goal of Caravaggio. The young man is written in a soft manner, while the fruits are depicted in rather harsh, short strokes.
According to contemporaries of the artist, he spent on the image of a vase with flowers, for example, as much time as on a full image of a person. This was a feature of the master. All his characters turned out to be alive, realistic. In particular, the young man with fruits is depicted in restrained but juicy colors, which fills the picture with the power of life and joy.
Another feature of the picture is a unique light, characteristic of the works exclusively of Caravaggio. Specialists call this lighting “basement”, since soft light falls only on those areas that the artist wanted to highlight and show: face, neck, arms, shoulders, and, of course, a fruit basket.
There was also a debate between art historians about who is still depicted in the picture. Some were inclined to believe that Caravaggio depicted himself on the canvas, as there were cases that the artist, being unable to pay the sitter, painted himself from a mirror image. This is known for certain about the painting "Sick Bacchus." Now, according to the evidence of the documents, it is known for certain that the picture depicts a long-time friend of the artist Mario Minniti, with whom he lived for more than six years.