November 8, 2018 - We took a walk to the Galleria Borghese today. It is an art museum located in one of the few green parks in Rome. The collection is unique in that it is located in the palace of a 16th century Cardinal named Scipione Borghese. Despite being a Cardinal, Borghese had little interest in religion. But he was the nephew of the Pope so in the spirit of nepotism he was given the high office and he used it to get rich and amass one of the finest collections of art in the world.
The Museum is particularly noted for it’s collection of Bernini sculptures. Gain Lorenzo Bernini was a child prodigy. He was in a very real sense the ‘Mozart of Marble’. He had a flamboyant personality, was very prolific , and worked unbelievably fast.
He was only 24 years old when he completed the work above, ‘The Rape of Proserpina’. Pluto, god of the underworld, has captured the daughter of the Ceres, the earth goddess. You can see the entire story in the work. Pluto is thick and well muscled. He is uncouth but not trying to hurt Proserpina. She tries to push her divine molester away, twists and calls for help. Tears are rolling down her checks.
It is dramatic, full of action, and designed to be experienced from all sides. No one was doing anything like this work. Look closely and you can even see Pluto’s fingers dig into her frantic body as if it were real flesh. All of this amazing piece was carved from a single block of marble. This is baroque style. It was a sensation and Bernini invented it. You cannot go anywhere in the city without seeing this form of art. Such was the influence of Bernini’s talent.
Bernini lived a long life and died in 1680 at the age of 82. He is buried in the Pantheon.
And just because it's something you do not see everyday -
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