09-Feb-2023
Of course we had to see the lobsters. I was happy they are still here.
They were supposed to leave in January.
We stopped at a caffe in Villa Borghese to have a coffee and a cornetto.
We wandered over to the Tempio di Esculapio (Temple of Asclepius - hero and god of medicine in Greek mythology.) We were mostly amused by the little pond with so many boats in it.
It seemed a little silly.
A monument to King Umberto I and my dad.
Okay onto the Borghese Museum!
The museum has always been a museum. It was never a residence that later became a museum.
The Rape of Persephone by Bernini
This sculpture is AMAZING. The detail of his hand digging into her thigh is unreal.
St. John the Baptist by Houdon
The rooms are impressive in themselves. They almost don't need the other artwork.
Lion!
I feel like the artist hadn't seen a lion.
Yes I want a statue! Also I want to be holding a tiny griffin. Just do it!
Apollo and Daphne by Bernini
The scene is also depicted in the painting on the ceiling.
It's hard to see, but the sculpture has tiny translucent leaves at the top as Daphne turns into a laurel tree.
David by Bernini
Everyone knows Michelangelo's David, but Bernini also has a pretty impressive David.
Sarcophagus with the exploits of Heracles (Hercules).
More amazing wall décor.
The museum houses the personal collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese nephew of Pope Paul V.
Herm of Bacchus by Valadier
I don't understand how they marry the two types of marble.
Paolina Borghese Bonaparte as Venus Victorious by Canova
She was Napoleon's sister.
I think the pillows/sedan look pretty amazing. They might steal the show from Paolina.
Art!
Roman mosaic from the 3rd or 4th century.
Lions on the walls! These are both more like and less like other lion art I've seen.
Above this door is a ridiculous relief.
It's either partially from or based on something found at Villa Adriana (Hadrian's Villa) from the 2nd century. And then maybe restored or a new sculpture was created in the 17th century.
ANYWAY, it's fantastic
Self portrait as Bacchus by Caravaggio
He looks ill...which was maybe the point?
Madonna with Child and St. Anne by Caravaggio
This was painted for Saint Peter's Basilica, but it was deemed inappropriate because Mary was depicted as an average person and the "infant" Jesus is naked.
Roman mosaic depicting the month of March from the 2nd or 3rd century.
The Truth by Bernini
This sculpture is unfinished and it even still has charcoal sketches on it from Bernini.
Sneak peek out a window.
An angel with the head of a dog?
A little statue of a Moorish hunter by John Fields.
I know this is supposed to depict glorious Greek soldiers or something but all I see is "Sashay and Pose! Sashay and Pose!"
These are both mosaics.
These are also mosaics.
Christ in the Tomb attributed to Raphael
Valerian....get the net. It's back.
St. Cecilia and Valerian by Lelio
The lower floor is all sculptures and the upper floor is mostly paintings.
Young Woman with boy and dog by Cordier
Sacred and Profane Love by Titian
I found this painting particularly intriguing because I feel like I've met/seen modern people with these faces. I don't know what it is about other older art, but the people always look....painted, somehow off. But I felt these look like people I could find out on the street today.
The gardens attached to the museum.
Ridiculously large lemons on a tiny sickly lemon tree.
And then we stalked some green parrots.
Go parrots go!
