Italy is one of the oldest European countries. It was on her land that great artists, architects, sculptors appeared. They 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 buying up works of art and placing them in the ancestral home of the Casino Nobile. Becoming a cardinal at the age of twenty-seven, Borghese was in charge of the Vatican Museums. He was not shy of anyone or anything in order to get the masterpieces he was interested in and replenish his collection. Thanks to his efforts, the works of Raphael and Giuseppe Cesare appeared in it.
The building has been renovated several times. The house received its final form under Marcantonio Borghese, who rebuilt the structure in the classical style, expanded the halls and strengthened the walls. In 1807, most of the architectural elements and sculptures, as well as the paintings of the Borghese Gallery, were sold to Napoleon, who then became the property of the Louvre. To date, a largepart of the sculptures according to the drawings of the eighteenth century. All of them are installed inside and in front of the "Casino Nobile" house. Almost all rooms in it have individual names, and the works of the Borghese Gallery are interconnected.
Address and location
Address of the Borghese Gallery in Rome: 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 from the metro there are signs towards the gallery. It will take about fifteen minutes to walk 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 nothing complicated: you need to reach the crossroads, cross to the other side, go past the monument to Byron 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.
Tours
To get into the gallery, you do not need to stand in lines and arrive before dark. But if you want to take a guided tour of the Borghese Gallery, then you need to try hard, because they are held only individually. The cost of the services of a guide is about one hundred and fifty euros. Tickets must be booked in advance on the official website. It also clearly indicates the time of visit and the number of people. Tours are available in both Italian and Russian. Duration - two hours.
During this time, the guide will tell you about each attraction stored in the gallery, give historical facts, and you can take a photo. The works in the Borghese Gallery are masterpieces with a unique history and a must see. Those who were lucky enough to visit the museum leave good reviews about the Russian-speaking guides, who talk about masterpieces with no less enthusiasm and passion 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 chose this plot and this hero for a reason. In his eyes, in a tense pose, in his hands, frozen in tension, you can feel the whole force of hatred that David is ready to pour out on Goliath. He looks at the figure of the killer and is about ready to punish him for the evil he has committed. 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 you perceive immortalized in marble as real, alive. Bernini was twenty-four years old when he began to bring his idea to life, and completed the work in just seven months. And this is a great achievement in itself.
Apollo and Daphne
The Borghese Gallery in Rome also keeps this unique sculpture almost 2.5 meters high. The plot was born frommyth. According to him, the angel of love Cupid was so offended by Apollo's mocking and contemptuous attitude towards himself that he punished him with unrequited love. In his heart, an angel shot a love arrow, and in the heart of Daphne, the 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 no matter how hard he tried to stop his beloved, she did not listen to him. One day she prayed that the gods would save her. The gods heard and turned Daphne into a laurel tree, evergreen and fragrant. The sculpture is very dynamic, but at the same time, streamlined and soft. It is best to view the composition from all sides in order to fully appreciate the fullness of the images.
True
Sculptures in the Borghese Gallery amaze with their realism. For example, the composition "Truth" is a girl sitting on a huge stone. She holds the sun in her right hand, and with her foot rests on the globe. When the sculpture saw the light, experts considered it the most unsuccessful work of Bernini. It so happened that the day before he was found guilty of serious errors that almost destroyed the bell tower of St. Peter during construction. For the master, this was a strong blow. Work on a new sculpture helped Bernini get out of a difficult mental situation.
"Truth" was conceived as a composition of several figures, but has remained in the form in which we see it now. However, following this work, the sculptor created an ingenious one - "The Ecstasy of the HolyTeresa". The work forever secured for Bernini the glory of a brilliant sculptor and architect.
Pauline Borghese Bonaparte as Venus
The 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. Commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte, the most powerful man of that time, Canova created a masterpiece - a sculpture, the main character of which was Napoleon's sister Pauline.
She was a unique girl. According to contemporaries, she combined the ideal proportions of the body, external beauty with incredible promiscuity, which even at that time amazed people. Polina was married to one of the members of the Borghese family, but managed to spin numerous novels on the side. Napoleon loved his sister very much, granted her titles and property. In turn, Polina did her best to get her brother out of prison during his high-profile political process, and then the only one asked for permission to live with him in exile on St. Helena.
Titian
A tour of the Borghese Gallery cannot be complete without getting to know 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 political figure, one of the leaders of the Republic of Venice, Niccolò Aurelio aswedding gift for your wife. The painting depicts two women, personifying carnal love and spiritual love, a kind of ideal union of a married couple. In the hand of a woman, personifying earthly love, there is fire, while 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 fruit basket
The creator of this painting is Caravaggio, the famous Italian Renaissance painter. He was still very young, lived with the prelate Pandolfo Pucci, painted pictures on similar subjects with great talent.
The painting has been the subject of heated debate among artists many times. There was an opinion 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 painting was the true goal of Caravaggio. The young man is painted in a soft manner, while the fruits are depicted in rather hard, short strokes.
According to the artist's contemporaries, he spent, for example, the same amount of time on the image of a vase of flowers as on the full image of a person. This was the peculiarity of the work of the master. All his characters turned out to be alive, realistic. In particular, the young man with fruit is depicted in restrained but juicy colors, which fills the picture with the power of life and joy.
Another feature of the painting is the unique light that is unique to the works of Caravaggio. Such lighting specialistscalled "basement", as soft light falls only on those areas that the artist wanted to highlight and show: the face, neck, arms, shoulders, and, of course, the fruit basket.
Also, there was a dispute between art historians about who is still depicted in the picture. Some were inclined to believe that Caravaggio depicted himself on the canvas, since there were cases that the artist, being unable to pay the model, painted himself from a mirror image. This is known for certain about the painting "Sick Bacchus". Now, according to documents, it is known for sure that the painting depicts an old friend of the artist Mario Minniti, with whom he lived for more than six years.
