Galleria dei Busti
Made under Clement XIV Ganganelli (1769/74)
by combining four rooms of the Palace of Innocent VIII Cybo (1484/92) with
arches on columns
ROOM I
In the vault panels with “Figures and two peacocks” maybe by Piermatteo
Lauro di Manfredo aka Piermatteo d'Amelia
(1446-48/about 1506) the author of the blue sky with stars on the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel, covered by Michelangelo's masterpiece
From the right up
“Caracalla” about 212
“It expresses all the pathos and drama of
the new absolutist conception of power, to which is no stranger the way of
representation of the Hellenistic dynasties, notably that of Alexander the
Great. Designed for this purpose are the twisting of the head and the strong
tendency of expression. (...) We are seeing a shift away from equilibrium and
expression of austerity, that the classical language gave to the face of the
sovereign, replaced by a desire for immediate and instinctive expression of
energy, almost transcendent” (Simona Fortunella/Gianluca Grassigli - TMG)
“Young Octavian” end of first century BC maybe
from Ostia, the only existing portrait of young Octavian later to become
Augustus
The identification however is not certain
and some scholars identify it as a portrait of one of the two grandchildren and
adopted sons of Augustus, Gaius Caesar and Lucius
They were sons of Augustus' daughter Julia,
later disowned, and Agrippa
This portrait had a huge success which is
testified by the large amount of modern copies produced particularly in the
nineteenth century
“Julius Caesar” about 25 BC one of the most
beautiful portraits of Caesar, very realistic with wrinkles and sunken cheeks
Despite the veracity of the work, adhering
to the stylistic features of Roman art, it remains nevertheless a clear
idealized expression, following the common Greek style appropriate to the
regime's propaganda
“The model for the creation of this
portrait, repeats some of the known patterns in the representation of the
Hellenistic rulers: very similar, for example, is the portrait of Antiochus III
of Syria, called the Great (late third century BC). The portrait of Caesar is
associated with the so-called type II of the portraits of Caesar, also called,
on the basis of this and another example in Pisa, “Chiaramonti-Pisa Cemetery
type”. This model - which has both realistic tones and a clear idealization -
seems to be a replica of a posthumous portrait of the dictator, a “piece of art
propaganda” presumably created in the early years of the principate of Augustus”
(Giandomenico Spinola)
ROOM II
Vault as in Room I
“Saturn” from original of the end of the fifth
or early fourth century BC
“Head of a Warrior” school of Pergamum, from a
votive offering of King Attalus
“Menelaus” from the group of Menelaus
supporting the body of Patroclus, maybe similar to the famous Pasquino
In the middle of the room “Rectangular base with neo-Attic reliefs” with
the visit of Dionysus to Icarius, Eros and Thanatos burning one soul (in the
form of a butterfly) and country scenes with Hercules and a goddess
ROOM III
Ceiling “Allegories of the Four Seasons” by Cristoforo Unterberger (1732/98)
In the niche seated statue of “Zeus aka Verospi” end of the third century or
early fourth century AD. It is called Verospi because it used to be kept in the
Verospi Palace
It is a copy of the cult statue of
Capitoline Jupiter and it was found near the Basilica of St. Agnes Outside the
Walls
The statue of Jupiter Capitolinus was
chryselephantine (made of gold and ivory) and it was destroyed by fire in 85
BC. The next statue had the same fate as it went up in flames in 69 AD
“Mask of Jupiter Ammon” from the original
of the early fourth century BC
“Woman praying aka Mercy” maybe Augustus'
wife Livia
“Head of Juno” from an original of the
fifth century BC
In the lunette over the passage “Fresco
with singers” of the 1400s
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