Villa Borghese Museum
Classes are officially in full swing and we just finished our art history mid-term. As a biochemist I can’t say that the class is my favorite subject matter, but I can say that getting the chance to study the history and art of the city you are living in greatly enhances your appreciation of the whole city. Also, I got a second peek at the Villa Borghese Museum and was even more impressed by the Bernini sculptures the second time around. Bernini’s genius was that he could capture a fleeting moment permanently in a marble medium. This very idea seems contradictory. The solidity of marble and the fleeting facial expression which portrays the person’s character, or in the case of The Rape of Proserpina, the instant of her being pulled down. According to the laws of physics I know that Proserpina (who carved in marble must weigh a ton!) is, in fact, being held up in the air by Pluto, and yet in the instant that I am looking at the statue, it is as if he has just emerged from the underworld, clasp her, and is tensing every muscle in order to pull her down. The marble physically is holding her up, but in every other regard, is straining to pull her down. Incredible.
If you don’t particularly like sculpture there are six Caravaggio master pieces within the museum and a whole second level devoted to other great paintings. As for me, the Villa Borghese Museum definitely goes down as a must see and my favorite museum.
