Rome and Art
Now we move from Rome’s streets to Rome’s art.
Rome’s streets are pop-up, unmanaged theaters where actors stream life in real time. The result is ephemeral (unless preserved by random acts of street photography), and the actors normally have no intention of conveying anything to anyone who might be nearby, and they certainly have no intention of creating art.
Rome’s art, by comparison, results from intentional acts of creation meant to convey something to viewers, present and future. It assumes there will be viewers, not mere bystanders. It certainly isn’t ephemeral, even if it should prove not to be quite as eternal as the Eternal City itself.
This little post does not –– and could not –– attempt to survey all art in Rome. That would be a laughably impossible task. Some art depicted here is world-famous and some isn’t. This post simply displays some selected pieces that resonated with us. There is no unifying theme, beyond this notion: Rome is filled with great art.
Our initial concept was simplistic: seeing lots of Gian Lorenzo Bernini statutes, mainly in the Galleria Borghese, which we last visited in 2012, and also in the Santa Maria della Vittoria basilica. That concept soon expanded, to include visits to the Galleria Doria Pamphilj and the Galleria Nazionale D’Arte Moderna.
We started at the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, a palace converted to a fine museum. Of particular interest to us was Bernini’s bust of Pope Innocent X. Nearby was Diego Velasquez’s portrait of the same pope. Bernini's work exudes power. It implies a far-sighted pontiff whose vision is above worldly things. The purity of the marble implies a pure soul. Velasquez’s pontiff exudes stern suspicion and distrust; his vision seems firmly locked on earth-bound matters. The rich hues imply a worldly interest in material things.
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There are many more great pieces in this museum, some off-handedly placed in stairwells and hallways. The rooms are sumptuous and the ceilings are very fine. The parquet floors are rich with history. The central garden is quietly reassuring. Even the bicycle seems artful.
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After a lifetime of mainly expressing myself with words, my postings here will mainly rely on images. They will speak for themselves to some extent, but I'll usually add a few comments of explanation. I've taken photographs for decades, since the 1950's, inspired in part by my father's photographic skill. Four years of photo assignments and quality darkroom time eventually gave way to decades of casual and family picture-taking. I re-immersed myself when I left film and turned to digital.