We observed the symbolism of the plants and flowers in paintings by both artists. Strawberry flowers are a symbol of the passion of the Christ and are a recurring theme in Lippi’s paintings.
There were also some paintings by an artist who is new to me, Piero di Cosimo. We saw The Freeing of Andromeda (1513) which is eccentric, inventive and fantastical. I think I’ve found a new artist to add to my list of favorites.
After the exhibit, I wandered around Rome and along the Fiume Tevere. Then we all met up and boarded a bus to take us to the Villa Borghese. This Villa is extremely strict and doesn’t even let you take a purse into the gallery. One must buy tickets for a specific entrance hour and each group is only allowed two hours in the gallery before a bell rings and everybody traipses back out. This is so ironic because the owner of the Villa, Scipione Borghese, built this Villa for pleasure and art. In fact, there is even an inscription on the front of the building that says something to the effect of, “Dear Visitors, Enjoy! This place is for pleasure. Stay as long as you like and don’t let anyone turn you away.” So much for respecting the wishes of the patron!
Inside, the Galleria Borghese is the most beautiful collection of work I have ever experienced. The collection includes many masters of the late Renaissance and early Baroque including Raphael, Titian, Bernini and Caravaggio. There were also some more works by my new favorite Piero di Cosimo. As an art collector, however, Scipione was ruthless. He stole and even imprisoned artists in order to obtain his favorites.
I am quickly realizing that I am incredibly inspired by the Baroque period and not so much by the Renaissance. Why? Storytelling! Baroque art is more than just Madonna and Child, they are climactic scenes from stories. I especially love telling the stories behind the paintings and seeing different interpretations of the same story. My dad is the most wonderful storyteller I have ever met and I remember growing up with his endless stories. The combined theatre and history in the art of storytelling has become a very positive and always happy part of my life.
Another important strain of the Baroque is the illusionistic ceiling paintings which open the room up to an infinite sky. It reflects the energy and vitality of the Baroque era. In one such room with an endless sky ceiling there were also two busts of the patron Scipione. I giggled when I looked at it. He reminds me of a plump and cheerful Professor Slughorn. They have many similarities like the appreciation for the fine things in life (Slughorn loved his crystallized pineapple like Scipione loved his wine) and found joy in collecting things (Slughorn collected famous students, Scipione collected famous works of art).
Most beautiful, I think, were the sculptures in the Borghese collection. There were conversation pieces like the sculpture of the hermaphrodite which would certainly provoke some interesting philosophical conversations. My favorite, however, were the sculptures by Bernini. Each sculpture contains such movement and emotion, depicting the climax of each story. Instead of the David being a triumphant young boy standing on a giant head, he is about to let the fatal sling fly. Then there is the tragic Rape of Persephone. That, of course, is the story of Hades stealing the daughter of Demeter from her garden and bringing her down to the underworld to be his bride. The marble sculpture captures the true emotion of the moment with a tear running down Persephone’s face as she cries out for her mother and pushes Hades’ face away. The musculature of Hades is striking and you can see the strength of his hands against the soft flesh of her waist. But my personal favorite was Apollo and Daphne. The story goes that the sun god, Apollo, fell in love with the wood nymph, Daphne. She did not love him back but Apollo would not give up. As he chased her through the wood, Daphne prayed to her father, Pineus, the river god, who turns her into a laurel tree just as Apollo catches her. Apollo then picked some branches from that laurel tree and made it into the wreath that became his signature look. Bernini picks the precise moment when Daphne begins her transformation into a tree with roots sprouting from her toes, her skin becoming bark and fingers transforming into leaves and branches. It is a shocking and stunning image.
We then got to observe the tennabroso of Caravaggio—his signature, darkness with selective light. But my awe of Caravaggio was cut short by the bell but wow, what a breathtaking gallery, possibly the best I have seen in Italy. We traipsed back onto the bus for a four hour bus ride back to Florence. Luckily, Jodie had heard our tour guide on the second day and bought Gladiator for us to watch on our way back. I had never seen it because of its gore, but I was really very impressed with the film. There was great acting and it was, of course, historically accurate.
Overall it was a full and successful trip to Rome. Now I have three weeks, two final presentations, one research paper, an art show and an exam to go!
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