PORTRAIT OF A MAN – Rapahel 1510 ca.

This painting is listed in and 18th century inventory of the Borghese gallery as a work by Raphael, but after the fidei commission of 1833 it was attributed to Holbein, without specifying whether the reference was to Hand Holbein or his father, Hans Holbein the elder. This attribution is explained by the anti-classical rendering of the face, which was executed in a period, before the middle of the first decade of the 16th century, when Rafael was influenced by the portraiture of […]

VASE OF FLOWERS – Jan Brueghel the Elder 1590 ca.

Executed with the same technique – although, due to the different dimensions, not pendants – these paintings, datable to the last decade of the 16th century, should be considered together because of the evident similarities in the way the still life are represented. Although the flowers form a fairly voluminous mass, they are, in both cases, contained in a glass vase with a spherical form on which the light, coming from the left, is reflected. In both works, flowers […]

SELF PORTRAIT AS BACCHUS – Caravaggio 1606

A self-portrait of Caravaggio made during his stay at the Consolation hospital. The Bacchino malato was donated to Cardinal Scipione Borghese by Pope Paul V and, therefore, housed in the family collection.

Caravaggio, Bacchino sick, 1593-1594, oil on canvas, 67 x 53 cm. Rome, Galleria Borghese

DESCRIPTION. SICK BACCHUS IS REPRESENTED AS A CONVALESCENT BACCO
The painting, alleged self-portrait of Caravaggio, takes the title from the skin color of the protagonist. Around 1593, the artist was admitted to the Consolation hospital, destined for the […]

DAVID WITH HEAD OF GOLIATH – Caravaggio 1606

Sent with the request for supplication to Pope Paul V, David with the head of Goliath, painted by Caravaggio in 1609, hides, perhaps, a double portrait of the artist.

Caravaggio, David with the head of Goliath, 1609, oil on canvas, 125 x 101 cm. Rome, Galleria Borghese

DESCRIPTION. PERHAPS A DOUBLE PORTRAIT HIDDEN IN THE CARAVAGGIO PAINTING
The young pastor David is represented by Caravaggio taking as a model a boy of the people. The young man is a teenager covered by a […]

MADONNA DEI PALAFRENIERI – Caravaggio 1606

Commissioned by the confraternity of the Palafrenieri, this painting was originally intended for Saint Ann’s chapel in St. Peter’s. The prestigious confraternity was established in Rome in 1378 by the pontifical Palafrenieri, responsible for the Vatican stables and still active today. The protagonists of the painting are the Virgin, the Child Jesus and Saint Anne: the Virgin leans forward, holding the child with both hands and showing him how to crush a snake with his foot, a symbol of sin and heresy. […]

SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST – Caravaggio 1610

The San Giovanni Battista is a subject that we often find in Caravaggio. Among the most famous versions I remind you that of the Capitoline Museums, that of the Nelson Gallery in Kansas City and that of the Corsini Gallery in Rome. The Saint is the one who baptized Jesus of Nazareth and his life was completely dedicated to preaching. Here San Giovanni Battista is younger than the other paintings made by Caravaggio and could seem like any shepherd who has […]