The gallery is
situated in the splendid palace facing onto the Piazza
del Collegio Romano. Rising on an earlier centre dating
back to the 16th century, the building was erected in
the early 1600's by theAldobrandini family. It passed as
a gift to the young Olympia, widow of her first husband
Paolo Borghese. It entered the Pamphilj family after the
second wedding of the noblewoman to Camil/o, nepotic
cardinal of his uncle, Innocent X. From the second half
of the century, the palace was enlarged according to the
design by Antonio Del Grande, who also took charge of
the later work at the end of the 1600's. In 1731,
Gabriele Valvassori modernised the building,
constructing the famous faqade in Via del Corso.
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The Rest on the Flight into Egypt,
a work dating back to 1595, summarises to perfection the
period of development of the artist; the Lombard experience
and the influence of the Venetian school, particularly
evident in the softness of the landscape on the right. A
novelty in this portrayal of a sacred theme is the rearview
of an angel-musician, in the centre of the painting, playing
a violin and following the score held up by St. Joseph. On
the score is part of the cantus of the motet Quam pulchra es
et quam decora by the Flemish, Noel Baulduin (1519),
inspired by the Song of Songs in the Old Testament where it
is the poetic dialogue between bride and groom, and refers
to the presence of the newly-weds, both true, Joseph and
Mary, and symbolical, the Virgin and Christ.
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The client is not known for
certainty, but some scholars have recently claimed him to be
cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini.
The Maddalena is depicted asleep like Mary in the Rest, in a
very similar pose. The rich dress she is wearing is still
courtly, but the jewellery lies on the floor. Her vigilant
sleep, on a chair, is a theme also said to be inspired by
the Song of Songs and therefore interpreted as amorous
languor, a love of God.The figure ofthe ex-sinner is lighted
by Caravaggio with a light that, besides being a
constructive element of fig- ure and scene, is significative
of the grace that bursts into the darkness of the sin. The
painting has been dated to between 1593 and 1597.
The St. John the Baptist is a signed and contemporaneous
copy of the canvass commissioned by Ciriaco Mattei, held in
the Campidoglio.
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