Borghese Gallery & Wine & Food Tasting

February 17, 2024

Buongiorno!

We have been so very busy, that I've fallen behind in our blog postings! So much to see, eat and drink!!!!

Ok! Next stop, our tour of the fabulous Galleria Borghese. Jessica was our guide - an art historian with a vast knowledge of Italian history and its multiple periods of art.

Let's begin with a few pics

This is the VERY famous "Rape of Persephone"- based on a Greek mythological story. Quick version of the story:

Persephone was picking flowers when Hades (a.k.a Pluto), god of the underworld, kidnapped her and took her back to the underworld to be his wife. Persephone's mom, Demeter, pleaded with Zeus to command her release. This wish was granted as long as she didn't eat anything. Silly girl, she wandered into the garden and ate 6 pomegranate seeds. She was thereby doomed to spend 6 months of the year with Hades and the other 6 months she could spend with her mom on Earth. The myth provides that, for those months in the underworld, the earth would be cold, dark and wintry, while her return to earth would bring spring and summer.

In his sculpture, Bernini reflects the artistic form of realism. It is considered Bernini's greatest masterpiece. All of Bernini's statues are meant to be viewed by going slowly all the way around the base and looking up - that way you can see what makes it a masterpiece - the capture of the movement of the figures, the detail in the physical forms, the finish on the marble (shiny or a flat finish).

Now in this next picture, we have "Apollo and Daphne", also based on Greek mythology.

In the story, Apollo returns from hunting a monster and encounters Eros (later known as Cupid), the God of Love. When Apollo brags about the size of his bow (perhaps an inference there?), Eros pricks him with a golden arrow, causing Apollo to fall in love with Daphne. But Eros pricks Daphne with a lead arrow, causing her to reject Apollo. As the mythical story ends, Daphne is converted into a laurel tree.

Check it out: you'll see the roots beginning to grow out of her toes and leaves and branches out of her back and head!!!!

You can easily see that the "feel" of the statue is completely different from the violence of Pluto and Persephone.

Even though it is not a Bernini, my favourite piece in the collection is "the lady on the couch" by Canova.

Isn't it simply sensational? Check out the mattress - it is so realistic, it looks you could lay down on it and actually sink into it! It is considered a masterpiece on its own! This piece debuted displayed on a large, elevated turntable so that viewers could see it from every angle.

Later in the day we went to a Wine and Food Tasting Dinner at Rimessa Roscioli.