An exhibition in the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica, Palazzo Barberini in Rome, shines the spotlight on 16th century artist Orazio Borgianni, hitherto overshadowed by his drinking partner and quarrel-picking contemporary Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio.“Orazio Borgianni. Un Genio Inquieto della Roma di Caravaggio” (“A Turbulent Genius in the Rome of Caravaggio”), curated by Gianni Papi, one of the maximum experts of the art of the period, is the first monographic exhibition dedicated to this artist, who was a leading and innovative figure, and who influenced many contemporary artists in the Rome of his time.
The exhibition contains 18 signed works as well as a couple of revealing self portraits that illustrate his physical decline. He died young, in fact, at the age of 42, after a series of scandals and squabbles with rival artist Giovanni Baglione.
His “Holy Family with St. Elisabeth, Young St. John and an Angel” contains what leading art critic Roberto Longhi called “the finest still life of the Italian '600” - the famous basket piled with linens that the artist placed prominently in the bottom corner of the picture.
Borgianni's works have been spread far and wide, so this exhibition is a unique opportunity to view his output, with works on loan from national galleries in Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Dresden, Florence, Toledo, Vienna, Paris, Naples and several Italian cities and private collections.
M. Stenhouse
Info: Tel. +39.06.481.4591 www.barberinicorsini.org
