OUR TRIP TO ROME: NAPOLEON’S DREAM OF A UNIVERSAL MUSEUM

Hi friends! In today’s post I would like to share with you the experience of our class, 3scB, going to Rome and visiting a very interesting exhibition: Il Museo Universale. Dal sogno di Napoleone a Canova (The Universal Museum. From Napoleon’s dream to Canova).

The exhibition included a lot of paintings and sculptures belonging to different artists and different periods. 

During Napoleon’s time (between 1796 and 1814) a lot of masterpieces were taken as spoils of war by the French and sent to Paris to be exhibited in the newly created Louvre museum. However, few years later, after Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, a part of those masterpieces came back to Italy thanks to Antonio Canova e the financial support of King George IV of England (1816).

We could admire works by artists well-known worldwide, such as Raffaello Sanzio, Tiziano Vecellio, Guido Reni, Tintoretto, Canova and Il Perugino. 

There were more than 100 masterpieces at the “Scuderie del Quirinale” but, in my opinion, three of them were the most interesting. They are simply marvelous!

“MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS” (Guido Reni).

This painting represents a sad moment of Christian history. Indeed, it shows the episode of the infanticide wanted by Herod the Great. He ordered the execution of all young male children in the nearby city of Bethlehem to kill Jesus, the Jews’ King. The most touching elements of the painting are those babies’ bodies laid down on the ground and the mothers’ gazes filled with sorrow.

“CAPITOLINE VENUS”  

This is an amazing marmoreal sculpture which depicts Venus coming out of her bath. She is embarrassed and we can deduce that because she is covering her private parts with her arms. The expression of her face seems absent, psychologically depicted by the small, languid eyes and the small, fleshy mouth. Finally, in my opinion, the most wonderful element is her hair so  rich in details, that gives the impression of  being wet.

“PORTRAIT OF LEONE X” (Raffaello).

In this imperious portrait is represented the Pope accompanied by two Cardinals. The pontiff sits on a red chair, he wears red clothes and the cardinals wear red tunic, so we can say the red dominates the painting. The pommel onto the Pope's chair evokes the symbolic abacus balls of the Medici family. The Pope has an intelligent gaze and his hands are delicate and touching the Holy Bible. His aspect reflects the healthy environment he lives in. 

I really enjoyed going to Rome with my mates and to learn much about Art and History through this exhibition. It’ll be opened untile 12th March. So you have few days left to visit it! 

Visit the official website

Francesco