My expectations of the Villa Borghese
were very little. I had never even heard of it before this trip began. I knew
only that it was both a park and a museum of art. Fortunately, any expectations
I had were met and exceeded.
In the 17th century, the
Borghese family was rising to power when Camilo Borghese was chosen as the
pope. He went by Pope Paul V and ended up providing many high ranking positions
to his family. One such family member was his nephew, Scipione Borghese. Scipione
was actually adopted by Pope Paul V and given the position of cardinal-nephew
which meant he was the Pope’s secretary and had a lot of influence on the
Vatican.
It was Scipione who built the Villa
Borghese for a few reasons including prestige as a new wealthy family, to house
diplomatic functions, and to house his art collection. He had at one point in
the Villa over 1700 paintings. But, it was his legal immunity as the
cardinal-nephew that allowed him to acquire it. He had no problem stealing or
blackmailing in order to get the art pieces he wanted. Scipione did have good
taste however, as he discovered an artist named Bernini.
Gianlorenzo Bernini was a sculptor who
employed a baroque style. This meant he sculpted figures in motion and tried to
find the energy of the beings and bring it to life. I think he did an unbelievable
job. The Bernini sculptures we saw at the Villa Borghese were remarkable. The
depth of emotion and passion was so evident. Two sculptures really stood out to
me.
The first is of Apollo and Daphne. This sculpture tells the story of Apollo struck
by Cupid’s arrow of love chasing the beautiful Daphne who does not wish for
Apollo’s love. She pleads to her father Peneus, the river god, to change her
form. Bernini captures the two in the moment of Apollo reaching Daphne and
Daphne turning into a tree. Looking at the sculpture you can see them running,
and the emotion on Daphne’s face is exquisite. Her fingers are turning to
delicate leaves and her toes into roots. It is hard to believe that it was
carved out of marble.
My second favorite is The Rape of Proserpine. Proserpine is
being kidnapped by the ruler of the underworld Pluto (or Hades) and stolen
away. I was truly amazed with this piece. Bernini was able to show her crying as
a tear streaks down her cheek and the indentations of Pluto’s fingers in her
skin as she struggles to get away from him.
Scipione Borghese can be attributed to
ordering the beautiful sculptures, but Bernini gets all the credit. He made
these when he was only 19-26 years old! He later suggested that they were some
of his very best work.
The park surrounding the Galleria
Borghese is actually the second largest park in Rome. It has 226 acres of
gardens with statues and busts, fountains, and lakes. It even has two other
museums. One of these museums houses Etruscan vases which we have seen early in
our adventure through Roman history. It also has a zoo! It is one of the oldest
in Europe and was founded in 1911.
So, while I really did not know what to
expect going into the Villa Borghese I ended up astounded. To see the Bernini
sculptures so lifelike and full of energy was simply marvelous. I would suggest
that anyone who comes to Rome spend an afternoon at the Villa Borghese
picnicking, viewing some amazing works of art, and seeing a few endangered
animals too!
~Paige Pederson
No comments:
Post a Comment