Monday September 30 was our last full day in Paris. We fly to Calvi, Corsica on October 1. We booked tickets to see the exhibit: Masterpieces from the Gallery Borghese at the newly reopened and renovated Musée Jacquemart-André. Around 40 masterpieces from Rome's famous Borghese Gallery are being shown including major works from famous artists from the Renaissance and Baroque periods rarely loaned outside Italy. The artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Veronese, Antonello da Messina, and Bernini.
The Musée Jacquemart-André is a private museum created from the private home of Édouard André (1833-1894) and Nélie Jacquemart (1841-1912) to display the art they collected during their lives. Édouard, the scion of a Protestant banking family, devoted his considerable fortune to buying works of art. He then exhibited them in his new mansion built in 1869 by the architect Henri Parent and completed in 1875. He married a well-known society painter, Nélie Jacquemart, who had painted his portrait 10 years earlier. Every year, the couple would travel to Italy amassing one of the finest collections of Italian art in France. When Édouard died, Nélie continued to purchase art. She bequeathed the mansion and its collections to the Institut de France as a museum and it opened to the public in 1913. The collection includes Italian paintings, sculptures and furniture from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. The Museum endeavours to highlight collectors who have left their mark on the history of art as did André and Jacquemart. The masterpieces collected by the Borghese family fit in very nicely with the works in the Museum.
We had visited the Museum a number of times in the past, so we spent most of our visit in the Borghese Masterpieces exhibit.
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| Entering the courtyard of the Museum |
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| Looking back from the entrance |
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| Jean-Baptise Pigalle (1714-1785), La tireuse d'épine, vers 1780. (in the entrance way) |
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| Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873), Portrait of Édouard André (1857) |
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| Sarcophage avec bas-relief représentant Minerve et Cérès, Art roman, III siècle |
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| La réception d'Henri III à la villa Contarini, Gambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770), around 1745 |
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| Other part of the work-- in the mezzanine going to the temporary exhibit |
The Villa Borghese Pinciana which now houses the Borghese Gallery, was built between 1607-1616 by the powerful Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577-1633), a nephew of Camillo Borghese (1550-1621) who was elected Pope Paul V in 1605. Scipione benefitted from his influential position as cardinal-nephew. Scipione Borghese completed his collection by every possible means, legal or otherwise. His lack of scruples was demonstrated by having his uncle seize more than 100 works from the collection of Giuseppe Cesari (1568-1640) (one of the most prominent artists in Rome) in 1607 on the pretext of illegal possession of firearms. Paul V then offered the entire collection to Scipione, enabling him to acquire such masterpieces as Caravaggio's
Boy with a Basket of Fruit.
Scipione's collection and properties were passed down from one generation to the next without being dispersed for almost 200 years. At the beginning of the 19th century, several hundred sculptures were given to Napoleon and replaced with new acquisitions. The Borghese family sold the villa and its museum to the Italian State in 1902.
The exhibit was totally amazing--- so nice to see the highlights of the Borghese Gallery in the renovated mansions. There were a number of themed rooms in the exhibit. I am going to highlight the highlights.
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| Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri (1589-1657), Loth et ses filles, 1617 |
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| Jacopo Bassano, Last Supper, 1546- "Christ is pointing to a dish containing a lamb's head, evoking his future sacrifice. Judas is in the right, recognizable by the purse he is concealing and the cat at his feet, a symbol of treachery. The artist fives the religious scene an everyday feel". |
Caravaggio,
Boy with a Basket of Fruit, was a knockout. It was one of Scipione Borghese's first acquisitions, in 1607. The identify of the boy is not known. The basket symbolizes abundance and vitality, yet on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that some pieces of fruit are over-ripe, while some leaves have turned yellow. These imperfections are a reminder of how fleeting life is. Caravaggio's mastery of contrasting light and shadow and his lively, realistic styles were demonstrated already in his early 20s when this piece was painted ( circa 1590).
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| Caravaggio (1571-1610), Boy with a Basket of Fruit, circa 1590 |
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| Bernini, Self-Portrait at a Mature Age (painted between 1635-1640) |
(style is reminiscent of the Spanish painters contemporary with Bernini, such as Diego Valázques, who stayed in Rome in about 1630)
I really liked Gerrit van Honthorst's painting Concert (Theft of the Amulet). He was a Dutch painter, who as a young man lived in Rome, where he discovered the work of Caravaggio. Returning to Utrecht in the 1620's, he developed "Caravaggism in the Netherlands" and enjoyed international success. The scene depicts a musician, accompanied by two singers-- a young man, whose rich clothes, feathered hat and sword give away his high social status and a prostitute, who takes advantage of the youth's distraction to steal his earring. Behind them, an elderly woman slips her hand into the young man's bag and holds a finger up to her mouth.
The influence of Caravaggio can be seen in the use of chiaroscuro to create sharp contrasts of light and the presence of a basket of fruit on the table- a reference to a still life painted by Caravaggio.
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| Gerrit van Honthorst (1592-1656), Concert (The Theft of the Amulet), vers 1620-1630 |
Raphael (1483-1520) painted
Lady with Unicorn in around 1506, at the beginning of his career. He was inspired by the portraits by Leonardo da Vinci, particularly the
Mona Lisa. The subject's identity is not known but it is assumed that she is probably a young Florentine aristocrat about to be married. It might have been commissioned as a wedding gift. The white pearl on her necklace is a symbol of purity and the little unicorn, symbolizes virginity- legend has it that only young female virgins are capable of taming these mythological creatures.
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| Raphael, Lady with Unicorn, vers 1506 |
Sibyl, by Domenichino did not enter the Borghese collection by wholly legitimate means. Scipione had Domenichino imprisioned for several days in order to force him to sell him two paintings, including Sibyl!! "The work appealed to Scipione, a pious man, music lover and scholar, who himself possessed a treatise on the sibyls."
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| Domenichino, Sibyl. |
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| Antonello da Messina (1430-1479), Portrait of a Man, vers 1476, -Antonello studied with Flemish artists whose influence can be seen here. |
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Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556/57), Madonna and Child, 1508. A 'holy conversation piece' was a popular regions subject. It features the Virgin and Child in the company of saints and martyrs. In this picture the Virgin is flanked by two saints- St. Ignatius and St. Onuphrius.
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There was a small room outlining the history of the Borghese collection. It contained a drawing of Scipione Borghese and a painting of Pope Paul V.
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| Esme Bouchardon (1698-1762), Buste de Scipione Borghese vu de face, vers 1729-30 |
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| Marcello Provenzale (1575-1639), Portrait du Pape Paul V, 1621 |
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| Titian (1485-1576), Venus Blindfolding Cupid, vers 1565. One of the first to enter Scipione's collection. On the left is Venus, surrounded by two winged Cupids. On the right two other female figures. |
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| Michele Tosini, dit Michele di Ridolfo del Chirlandaio (1503-1577), Leda, vers 1565-1570) |
There were many more masterpieces- it is difficult to imagine all this incredible art dating back 500-600 years in such amazing condition and all in one gallery- the Borghese. It was a great exhibit- a definite highlight of the trip.
After the exhibit, we wandered a bit more through the permanent collection. Lots of beautiful pieces. The grand salons are decorated with works by French painters; the library contains paintings by Flemish and Dutch masters and the first floor contains the Italian Renaissance art.
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One of the walls in a room on the main floor. Middle painting- Francesco di Rossi, dit Francesco Salviati (1510-1563), Portrait d'un jeune joueur de luth, vers 1529-1530.
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On the main floor, there were also a number of the private apartments done in a Louis XV style.
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| Nélie's Bedroom |
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| Le Petit salon de Madame |
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| The Antechamber--- there is a portrait of Édouard André by Nélie Jacquemart, 1872. |
This room was located between the two bedrooms and was the couple's special private meeting place. They took their breakfast here every morning, surrounded by family portraits.
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| Édouard's bedroom-- this room was renovated after his death |
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| Adjoining bathroom to the bedroom |
They have done an excellent job of updating the Museum and the Borghese Masterpieces was a perfect temporary exhibit to reopen the Museum.
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| Leaving the Museum |
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| Sleeping and watchful lion in front of Museum |
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| Looking down Blvd. Haussmann |
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| Picking up some treats at a local artisanal bakery near the Museum |
We walked down Rue Miromesnil to Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré and then walked along Faubuourg-Honoré until the street turns into Rue St. Honoré. We wandered and mainly window-shopped. We headed all the way back to Palais-Royal. We passed the embassy area, the very up-scale clothing stores and then the smaller high-end stores, cafés and food shops.
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| British Embassy- 120 years of entente cordiale |
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| Japanese embassy |
We continued our walk on Rue St. Honoré until we were close to Palais-Royal. We checked out restaurants in the 'hood and decided to have a bowl of Ramen in Paris' Japanese quarter (in and around rue Ste-Anne). Kodawari Ramen Tsukiji was highly rated. It is inspired by Tokyo's main fish market- Tsukiji (which we have visited). It recreates a typical market atmosphere with fresh fish in iced crates, hanging market bags and paraphernalia, and a soundtrack from a busy market. Alain and I had slightly different versions of ramen in a delicious sea bream broth.
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| Adieu à Paris! |
We headed back to the apartment to finish packing. We had an excellent week in Paris, comme d'habitude. We enjoyed staying in a different area of the city and exploring new neighbourhoods and old favourites. The rain and cool weather was a bit of a downer and we both managed to get colds (hot subways and damp weather is not a good mix). However, we are both on the mend. The two art shows at Musée d'Orsay and the Jacquemart-André were highlights along with Alain's birthday celebration. One never gets tired on exploring the city.
It is now October 1 and we are in Calvi, Corsica. From Paris to Paradise .... to be continued.
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