One Day Only: Art Museums

The great hall at the Palazzo Colonna

An unremarkable statue, 

dramatically backlit 

at the Palazzo Doria Pamphilij

"Lotta di Putti", Guido Renni, depicting the triumph 
of "profane" over "sacred" love. At the Doria Pamphilij

The eyes of Pope Innocent X follow

the viewer in the Doria Pamphilij's

most important work by Valasquez

Meredith, moving with purpose,
down a gallery at Palazzo
Doria Pamphilij

Rome has long been the destination of artists--painters, writers, musicians, etc.  Not surprisingly, a lot of it has ended up in museums and galleries over the years (although there is certainly no lack of  available in churches and even on street corners for everyone to see.) One could probably spend every day enjoying it in a museum setting--a prospect which the girls most decidedly did NOT want to entertain!  However, Mom and Dad finally laid down a position that there is time and place for art appreciation and decreed that today would be the ONE AND ONLY day, when art appreciation would be day's theme.  Thus we found ourselves this morning trekking to two amazing settings:  the Palazzo Colonna and the Palazzo Doria Pamphilaj, to admire the collections of two aristocratic Italian families accumulated, in the case of the Colonnas, over nearly a millenium.  We were particularly excited to see the Colonna because it only has limited hours of availability to the public, since the family still lives there.  The setting didn't disappoint.  The marble halls, the beautiful mirrors, the sculpture and the paintings, the tapestries and the velvet covered walls were reminiscent of Versailles in its glory.  The Doria Pamphilij--which is over 1,000 rooms (only the staterooms are dedicated to the art collection and public display--provided a similar feast for the eyes.  Some of the works worth mentioning included the Velasquez portrait of Innocent X, whose eyes pierce the viewer and which was rejected by its subject with the comment (It's too real!).  There are also a number of Caravaggios, including two striking pieces displayed side by side, in which the same model poses as Mary, mother of Jesus and Mary Magdelene, prostitute. The original Titian painting of Salome with the head of John the Baptist is there.  Not as notable but of interest to us for various reasons were paintings by Jan Bruegel (admired by Olivia) and several paintings of ugly people by Quentin Massys, in his instantly recognizable style, which for some reason tickle the fancy of Scott and Laura.  Meredith expressed amazement at a Roman statue of a centaur which, in an unfortunate accident involving collapse of a roof under the weight of snow, was broken into 25 pieces but skillfully restored.  Cecily enjoyed the portraiture, which was remarkably realistic. The story of Olimpia Altobrandini, the beautiful heiress and widow, who married into the Doria Pamphilij family but maintained her position as an independently wealthy and involved businesswoman tickled the feminist in all of us. Post-museum, we wandered home in the Roman heat, stopping along the way for supplies to try grilled cheese sandwiches--a clear sign we are all starting to long for the comforts of home.  A plan to attend mass this evening at Sopra Minerva fell apart when Laura fell asleep.  Just as well:  tomorrow is a travel day to the hill towns, possibly Orvieto, if we can find the right train.