Cardinal Scipione Borghese

Background

Scipione Borghese was born in 1577 and was the nephew of Pope Paul V. He was adopted by his uncle, making a cardinal in 1605 after Pope Paul rose to the papal throne [1]. 

He met Bernini when he was a young, gifted child. They crossed paths through Scipione’s relationship with Bernini’s father who created various works for the cardinal. Scipione began commissioning works from Bernini early in his adolescence which helped launch his career as a rising artist [2]. 

Interests in the Arts and Mythology

Scipione was an avid collector who had an interest in antiquities and mythological works. Many scholars attributed this to the fact that aristocrats at the time would commission these Roman and Greek mythological works to showcase their intellectual prowess and knowledge of the classics. Scipion, however, stood out with the number of artworks he commissioned. His life, according to a notable Venetian ambassador, was “largely devoted to the cultivation of pleasures and pastimes” which explains his dedication to the art world [3].

In 1612, Scipione built the beautiful Villa Borghese and filled it with many iconic works like three mythological works covered above and Bernini’s outstanding David sculpture. The villa Borghese was celebrated because of its rich artworks, decorations, and reliefs [4]. Its architectural style was influenced by the Roman tradition and was meant to represent the idea of “a triumphant Rome '' [5]. The glory of Rome however was shown not through its military power but through its appeal to intellect, culture, and civilization. This triumphant idea of Rome extended to the patron of the patron Scipione. 

It’s clear that Scipione played an important role in the development of Bernini’s mythological works in the latter part of his career. Within this The Influence of Ovid’s Metamorphoses you will explore in more detail the three major life-sized mythological works commissioned by Scipione: 

These include:

• Rape of Proserpina
• Apollo and Daphne
• Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius 

References

1. Bacchi, Andrea, and Anna Coliva. Bernini. Milano: Officina Libraria srl, (2017), 240
2. Bacchi and Coliva, Bernini, 240
3. Bacchi and Coliva, Bernini, 240
4. Fiore, Kristina Herrmann. “The Exhibition of Sculpture on the Villa Borghese Facades in the Time of Cardinal Scipione Borghese.” Studies in the History of Art 70 (2008), 221.
5. Fiore, The Exhibition of Sculpture on the Villa Borghese Facades in the Time of Cardinal Scipione Borghese,” 221.