Built in the park of
Cardinal Pio da Carpi, the palace was planned by Carlo
Maderno after ownership passed to Francesco Barberini in
1625. Planned as a residence for the papal family, the
building was provided with splendid gardens, making a
true and proper town house. The later intervention
by Bernini saw the construction of the central saloon (decorated
with the famous fresco by Pietro da Cortona), of the
loggia with porch below and the great staircase with
squared stairwell. The design of the windows of the
central part and the plan for the great winding
staircase can be attributed to Francesco Borromini.
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Bought by the State in 1949, the
palace holds the National Gallery of Classic Art that,
formed in 1895 and recently inaugurated, collects works
dating from the 12th to the 18th Centuries, belonging to
noble families (Torlonia, Barberini, Chigi, Sciarra, etc.).
The Decapitation of Holofernes, dated between 1595 and 1600,
coming from the Coppi collection, can be identified with the
Judith painted by Caravaggio for the banker, Ottaviano
Costa. The work, closely tied to the traditionally important
Biblical story of the triumph of good over evil, of virtue
over vice, is noted for the severity of the scene. The
decisive action of the heroine, who appears cold and
determined; with a slight note of reaction on her face, as
on the other hand the ancient servant, with staring eyes,
contrast with Holofernes' cry, his contracted body stretched
out on the bed in the last seconds of life.
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The light emphasises the
horrifying wound from which a violent jet of blood spurts.
The representation of a non-Hebrew Holofernes, the opposite
of the Bible story, but completely aware of his end, is new
in Caravaggio. The famed sensuality of Judith was originally
highlighted by the artist with the naked breast, later
concealed by
the bodice. An admirer, and also model, of Caravaggio's,
Girolama Giustiniani, can be recognised in the Judith.
The Narcissus is a work dating back to 1599 - 1600. The
debated attribution to Caravaggio has now been recognised
once and for all after the restoration. The theme of
Narcissus who is looking at his reflection in the water, was
considered symbolic ofthe moral exhortation "know thyself |
