The Borghese Gallery is a perfect example of Baroque collecting: the paintings and statues are placed within a frame of frescoes, marble, mosaics, and decorations that not only convey the idea of pomp, but also and above all give an impression of full, rich, soft sensuality. You'll find paintings or sculptures that speak of love in every room of this museum. In some cases, it's subtle, intellectual love expressed through symbols, as is the case in the work titled Young Woman with Unicorn by Raphael; instead in other cases the theme of love is much more clear.
So let's dive into this gallery of sensuality starting with the early 16th-century painting entitled Danae by Correggio, a great master from Parma. This is one of the most erotic paintings in history: with an explicit gesture, and the help of Love pulling at her sheets, the girl welcomes Zeus, who takes her in the form of golden rain: every curve of her soft body is an invitation for love.
This masterpiece is part of the cycle of "Zeus' loves": four canvases that Correggio painted at the behest of the Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo Gonzaga.
Titian responds to Correggio's paintings with his work entitled Sacred and Profane Love. Two blond girls that are similar enough to look like twins are surrounded by symbols that exalt beauty, extreme pleasures, and the physical union of bodies. The sensuality in this painting spreads from the girls to nature, exciting the landscape almost like a shiver: then twenty-five year old Titian invites you to brush your fingers along their ultra-fresh skin, to feel their golden red hair.
Yet the suffering caused by love is also alluded to in the gallery, especially in the painting entitled Venus by Lucas Cranach, one of the greatest painters of the German Renaissance: smiling, the goddess indicates the child Cupid who is complaining of bee stings. The painting reminds you that the "stings" of love can be much worse than those of bees!
Moving on to the seventeenth century, I'd like to point out the painting entitled Diana's Hunt by Domenichino: a feminine masterpiece with nymphs bathing in a crystal clear pond, showing their immature teenage bodies.
Among the many works on love in the gallery, one exception is the painting Entombment by Raphael, his dramatic masterpiece from 1507. It was commissioned by a gentlewoman of Perugia whose son had been killed: the mother is just like Mary, unconscious due to the pain.
FUN FACT: the museum's most erotic piece is definitely the famous statue of Paolina Borghese by Canova. The marble was originally covered in pink wax and only shown by torchlight to very few, select guests.
Language: English