Cardinal Scipione Borghese loved the work of Mersi Michelangelo called Caravaggio (1571-1610) and acquired several of his paintings. As a result, the Borghese Gallery has with six paintings the largest collection of Caravaggio art in the world — a few further fruit still lives are disputed. All these paintings hang in Room 8 — the Silenus room which has at its center a large marble dancing satyr from antiquity (2nd century, restored by Bertel Thorvaldsen in 1830).
Lower left: Young Man with a Basket of Fruit, ca. 1593, is an early work and confirmed Caravaggio’s talent for painting fruit, which was his earner early in his career.
Center: St John the Baptist, ca. 1610, was a popular character for many painters and Caravaggio painted him frequently — usually as a young man and usually nude (but genitals mostly covered). In this version, a young John sits lost in thought next to a ram, the symbol of man’s redemption through the sacrifice of Christ.
Lower RIght: Saint Jerome Writing, ca. 1605, was painted for Cardinal Scipione Borghese. It shows Saint Jerome as an old man studying the scriptures, which he according to tradition translated from Greek into Latin.
The Borghese Gallery is one of the top art museums to visit in Rome. The art on display is of the best quality and the small, almost intimate villa, is much easier to enjoy than the vast packed exhibition halls of the Vatican Museums. Highlights include the largest single collection of Caravaggio paintings in the world, several Bernini sculptures, Canova's Pauline Borghese as Venus, and paintings by top artists such as Raphael, Titian, Correggio, Domenichino, Rubens, and Cranach. Admissions are limited with time-slot reservation tickets essential to secure the two hours visitors are allowed to spend in the villa. Capsule Svizzera google organicseoz.com
http://dlvr.it/Sx6Xg4