I ❤️ Sculpture

 


September 27, 2023 - The Borghese Gallery

Well who knew? I appreciate beautiful paintings and other forms of art but it turns out that marble sculpture has captured my heart. On the recommendation from good friends, we purchased tickets to the Borghese Gallery in Rome which features many beautiful pieces of art but really profiles the amazing work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).

As an architect and city planner, Bernini designed secular buildings, churches, chapels, and public squares in Rome.

It turns out that Cardinal Borghese was a fan of Bernini and so commissioned him to do several sculptures and art pieces for his private residence which is now the Borghese Gallery. The gallery itself with its amazing ceilings is a work of art unto its own but the marble sculptures are beyond description. I don’t think Chris is going to buy me a block of marble to try my hand at this but the ability of this artist to craft such emotion into a piece of rock is breathtaking!

Just a taste of the work of Bernini…

 
The Abduction of Prosperina (1622)
The sculpture, finished when Bernini was just 23 years old, depicts the abduction of Prosperina who is seized and taken to the underworld by the god Pluto. Such detail in the way the hands grab Prosperina.


Intricate ceiling painting throughout the Borghese villa.


 
The David by Bernini (1624)
 David, with a determined look on his face, prepares to cast the stone that slays Goliath.
Great action pose!

 
Apollo and Daphne (1622-25)
The legend is that Apollo wanted Daphne and she didn't return the feeling (thanks to some interference from Eros)  so her dad turned her into a laurel tree to save her from him. As you walk around the sculpture, you can watch Daphne transform into a tree. It is spectacular.


It was impossible to know where to look next!
 
Just WOW!

Another beautiful sculpture, this one by Antonio Canova. It turns out Camillo Borghese commissioned this to celebrate his marriage to Napoleon's sister, Pauline Bonaparte. A woman of such stature would not normally be portrayed without clothing but apparently she was not a typical lady!

And when we were done admiring marble, Chris admired a few cars in the Ferrari and Maserati store.

Then it was back to the Trevi Fountain area for dinner and a nighttime view.

Comments

  1. RuthSeptember 29, 2023 at 11:40 AM

    Amazing wasn't it? The first sculpture was my absolute favourite, the way he managed to have the fingers pressing into her thigh in marble looking like flesh mesmerized me. Genius is the word for these artisans.

    ReplyDelete

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