Click on the
photo to enlarge it |
Click on the
photo to enlarge it |
The
original sculptures and paintings in the Borghese
Gallery date back to Cardinal Scipione's collection,
the son of Ortensia Borghese - Paolo V's sister -
and of Francesco Caffarelli, though subsequent events,
over the next three centuries, entailing both losses
and acquisitions have left their mark. Cardinal Scipion
was drawn to any works of ancient, Renaissance and
contemporary art which might re-evoke a new golden
age. He was not particularly interested in medieval
art, but passionately sought to acquire antique sculptures.
But Cardinal Scipione was so ambitious, that he promoted
the creation of new sculptures, and especially marble
groups to rival antique works. The statue of
Pauline Bonaparte , executed by Canova between 1805
and 1808, has been in the villa since 1838. In 1807,
Camillo Borghese sold Napoleon 154 statues, 160 busts,
170 bas-reliefs, 30 columns and various vases, which
constitue the "Borghese Collection" in the Louvre.
But already, by the 1830's these gaps seem to have
been filled, by new finds from recent excavations
and works recuperated from the cellars and various
other Borghese residences. Cardinal Scipione's collection
of paintings was remarkable and was poetically described
as early as 1613 by Scipione Francucci. In 1607, the
Pope gave the Cardinal 107 paintings which had been
confiscated from the painter Giuseppe Cesari, called
the Cavalier d'Arpino. In the following year, Raphael's
Deposition was secretely removed from the Baglioni
Chapel, in the church of S.Francesco in Perugia
and transported to Rome. It was given to the Cardinal
Scipione through a papal motu proprio. In 1682, part
of Olimpia Aldobrandini's inheritance entered the
Borghese collection; it included works from the collections
of Cardinal Salviati and Lucrezia d'Este.
