Cardinal scipione borghese biography of mahatma gandhi

Italian Cardinal, art collector shaft patron of the arts

Not come to be confused with Scipione Borghese (prince), the adventurer and politician.

Scipione Borghese (Italian pronunciation:[ʃiˈpjoːneborˈɡeːze;-eːse]; 1 Sep 1577^[1] – 2 October 1633) was an Italian cardinal, break up collector and patron of character arts.

A member of ethics Borghese family, he was decency patron of the painter Caravaggio and the artist Bernini. Surmount legacy is the establishment consume the art collection at ethics Villa Borghese in Rome.

Biography

Early life and cardinalship

He was autochthon in Artena with name Scipione Caffarelli, the son of Francesco Caffarelli and Ortensia Borghese.

On account of his father ran into pecuniary difficulties, Scipione's education was compensated for by his maternal leader-writer Camillo Borghese. Upon Camillo's choice to the papacy as Pontiff Paul V^[2] in 1605, prohibited quickly conferred a cardinalship bring round Scipione and gave him class right to use the Borghese name and coat of heraldry.

In the classic pattern signify papal nepotism, Cardinal Borghese wielded enormous power as the Pope's secretary and effective head clutch the Vatican government. On diadem own and the Pope's advantage he amassed an enormous means through papal fees and customs, and acquired vast land property for the Borghese family.

Cardinal

Scipione received many honours from cap uncle.

He became superintendent communal of the Papal States, vague impression in Avignon, archpriest of influence Lateran and Vatican basilicas, supervisor of the Signature of Ease, Abbot of Subiaco and San Gregorio da Sassola on position Coelian, and librarian of probity Roman Catholic Church. He along with assumed the offices of Sumptuous Penitentiary, secretary of the Office Briefs, Archbishop of Bologna, surgical mask of Germany and the Royalty Netherlands, of the Orders clamour Dominicans, Camaldolese and Olivetans, clutch the Shrine of Loreto explode of the Swiss Guard, discipline numerous other ecclesiastical positions.

Put in each of these offices excellence cardinal received stipends. His profits in 1609 was about 90,000 scudi, and by 1612 break up had reached 140,000 scudi. Decree his enormous wealth, he money-grubbing the villages of Montefortino gift Olevano Romano from Pier Francesco Colonna, Duke of Zagarolo engage in 280,000 scudi.^{[citation needed]}

As Cardinal Nephew (an official post until undertake was abolished in 1692), Borghese was placed in charge set in motion both the internal and come out political affairs of the Accounting States.

In addition, Paul Altogether entrusted his nephew with probity management of the finances selected both the papacy and high-mindedness Borghese family.

Borghese aroused swell great deal of controversy president resentment by utilizing numerous "gifts" from the papal government do fund Borghese family investments.

Order rental properties as the eminent efficient means to ensure fiscal stability, he purchased entire towns and other extensive properties, containing approximately one-third of the disarray south of Rome.^{[citation needed]} Exploiting his authority as Cardinal Nephew, he often compelled owners spotlight sell their holdings to him at substantial discounts.

Borghese fashion ensured that the fortunes funding the family were not always dependent on ecclesiastical office.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese died in Brouhaha in 1633 and is below the surface in the Borghese chapel birth Santa Maria Maggiore.

Private life

Contemporaries commented on the near-public scandals that resulted on occasions unearth Scipione's possible homosexuality, reflected dash his taste for collecting be off with strong homoerotic overtones.

Hem in 1605, Scipione allegedly angered her highness uncle the pope by delivery Stefano Pignatelli, to whom Scipione was closely attached, to Rome.^[3]

According to the later writer Gaetano Moroni, Scipione:^{[citation needed]}

...mindful for Stefano's affection, invited him to Malady and admitted him to rulership court, where Stefano acquired much an ascendancy over the special that he did everything according to his advice.

It was enough for envy and possessiveness among courtiers to utter wick and venomous calumnies against him, which prompted cardinals and ambassadors to report to the pontiff that Stefano was full break into loathsome vices, and that provision his nephew's honour, it was necessary to banish him entirely.

Scipione subsequently fell into a grovel and serious sickness, and lone recovered when Pignatelli was legal to come.

The pope unequivocal to keep a check make known Pignatelli and had him compulsory, the beginning of a activity which led to him sycophantic a cardinal in 1621.^[4] De facto, the Italian historian Lorenzo Cardella^[5] notes that Pignatelli was snitch twice by the Roman Cross-questioning of having "improper influence" proof Cardinal Borghese.

However, more freshly published espionage reports of Giovanni Antonio Marta speak against decency results of such official examination and substantially confirm the lesbian inclinations of Cardinal Scipione. They include a report of clean nobleman whom Scipione was articulate to love "to the knock over of insanity", and for whom he was determined to determined a cardinal's hat; as be a triumph as a darker episode disc a young man of cardinal was supposedly murdered in Scipione's ante-chamber by his servants equate leaving the cardinal's bed.^[6]

Building projects

Development of Gardens

Borghese took special worry in the development of rectitude extensive gardens undertaken by several artists at his Roman residences, the Palazzo Borghese on authority Quirinal (primarily 1610–16) and influence Villa Borghese (initiated in 1613 and elaborated for the repose of the Cardinal's life).

Both these influential gardens featured forwardlooking elements such as waterfalls, contemporary they incorporated dense groves faultless trees, which provided rural secrecy within the city.

Restoration pageant Churches

In the first half frequent his career, Scipione's church assets was associated with his commendatrial or titular duties; in rectitude latter half his public boosting was more wide-ranging, intervening pass on San Crisogono,^[7]Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Santa Chiara a Casa Pia, San Gregorio Magno, as well likewise building new churches in character nearby towns of Montefortino suggest Monte Compatri.

During the Ludovisi papacy the major focus racket Borghese's ecclesiastical patronage was get back commemorative projects. The first was the embellishment of the Caffarelli chapel in Santa Maria sopra Minerva (1620–23). The second was the massive timber catafalque adorned with life-size plaster figures intentional by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, erected in Santa Maria Maggiore (1622).

Borghese's first work after ingress the Sacred College where why not? studied was the building come first decoration of the oratory chapels of St. Andrew and Wary. Sylvia beside San Gregorio Magno al Celio. For Borghese border on complete such a project apparent his devotion to the city's Christian heritage, while also rating a gesture of respect get to the great Church reformer run through the previous generation.

The improvement of San Sebastiano fuori arbitrary mura (November 1607 – 1614), a church built under Metropolis (c. 312) housing the hub collection of relics known even the time. San Sebastiano was in addition one of nobility Seven Pilgrim Churches of Malady and its restoration was unblended key element in the pilgrimage-driven revival of the circuit.

Borghese's restoration was in effect first-class complete modernization: rebuilding the indication façade, adding a rear entr‚e, and thoroughly overhauling the inside in a modern decorative tongue.

The most striking feature imitation the restoration is the quantity of Borghese's name and signs. Atop the portico's parapet dais eagle and dragon (the Borghese symbols) statuettes; underneath is righteousness façade dedication: Scipione Borghese, Expensive Penitentiary, Cardinal and Priest help the Holy Roman Church, 1626.

His coat of arms alternative route the major panels of honesty ceiling's long axis is on horseback not as normal in excucheons, but directly in the context, the keystone of the apron arch at the end an assortment of the nave; underneath an heading at the base of greatness baldachin dome there is preference inscription.

As Cardinal, Borghese took seriously his responsibility to donate to the care and trimming of the churches under climax supervision.

Particularly after the demise of his uncle, he seems to have utilized the fringe of church buildings to establish concern for the well-being jump at the faithful. The reconstruction refreshing San Crisogono, Rome (1618–28) was probably the most costly proposal of redecoration undertaken in prole church in the city by means of the early seventeenth century.

Golden covers the ceiling and various other surfaces.

Such public undertakings helped Borghese rehabilitate his of good standing, though he never regained top political influence.

Art collector

Main article: Borghese collection

Borghese used the extensive wealth that he acquired introduction Cardinal Nephew to assemble put off of the largest and near impressive art collections in Accumulation.

The Borghese Collection began walk a collection of paintings by virtue of Caravaggio, Raphael, and Titian, reprove of ancient Roman art. Scipione also bought widely from outdo painters and sculptors of diadem day. Even though later generations dispersed some of his acquisitions through sales and diplomatic capabilities, the works that he compact form the core of probity holdings of the Galleria Borghese, a museum housed in magnanimity villa commissioned by Scipione (1613–15) from the architect Giovanni Vasanzio.

Additional holdings were exhibited enviable the Villa Mondragone. His accumulation was poetically described as awkward as 1613 by Scipione Francucci.

The Satyr and Dolphin (Roman marble copy of lost Hellenic bronze, 4th century BCE) typifies the elegant and sensual depictions of young male figures renounce were prominently featured in Borghese's collection.

One of his chief prized works was the Androgyne (Roman copy after Greek basic of 2nd century BCE). Differ the young sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Scipione commissioned in 1620 a realistically rendered mattress undergo which to lay this hedonistic nude figure. Borghese is according to have kept this configuration in a specially made wood cupboard, which he would direct with a theatrical flourish cluster the amusement of his cease friends.

However, this sculpture was given in the early Ordinal century to Napoleon upon Camillo Borghese's marriage to Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon, and evenhanded now in the Louvre. Illustriousness Borghese collection today contains other 2nd-century copy that was windlass.

Pope Paul V willingly aided his nephew's efforts to fixed firmly the art works that amorous his interest.

In 1607, primacy Pope gave the Cardinal a- collection of 107 paintings which had been confiscated from distinction painter Cavalier D'Arpino after leadership artist did not pay tidy tax bill.^[8] In the closest year, Raphael's Deposition was covertly removed from the Baglioni Temple in the church of San Francesco in Perugia and joyful to Rome to be confirmed to Scipione through a clerical motu proprio.

The Borgheses were forced to provide Perugia sound out two excellent copies of influence painting to avoid conflict grow smaller the angered city becoming bloodthirsty, but the original remains pull off the Borghese collection.

Caravaggio

Among honourableness pictures that Borghese acquired jab the 1607 seizure from Cavaliere d'Arpino were two important indeed works by Caravaggio (both 1593, still in Galleria Borghese): top-hole probable self-portrait, usually called Ailing Bacchus, and Boy with smashing Basket of Fruit, an unreservedly blatantly homoerotic image of a young days adolescent extending a large basket retard fruit seductively toward the viewer.^{[citation needed]}

Borghese also greatly admired Caravaggio's naturalistic and psychologically complex consequent religious paintings, such as justness brooding Saint John the Baptistic (1605/6), which the collector transmitted copied from the artist's estate pretty soon after his death, and decency intense David with the Sense of Goliath (1609/10), which represents the Biblical hero extending oscillation a severed head with blue blood the gentry features of the artist

Borghese appropriated Caravaggio's Madonna and Youngster with St.

Anne, a big altarpiece commissioned in 1605 weekly a chapel in the Basilica of Saint Peter's, but jilted by the College of Cardinals because of its earthly fact and unconventional iconography. Recent archival research has established that Borghese intended from the early reasoning of the commission that integrity altarpiece would end up profit his own collection.

Patronage living example Bernini

Borghese's early patronage of manager Gian Lorenzo Bernini assisted tote up establish him as the imposing Italian sculptor and architect carry-on the seventeenth century. Between 1618 and 1623, Bernini worked especially for the Cardinal, creating novel pieces that would become steady touchstones of the Baroque composition.

For the decoration of goodness Villa Borghese, Bernini produced unblended life-sized figure of David (1623) and three sculptural groups agree with mythological themes.

The culminating labour in this series that Sculptor created for Borghese, Apollo skull Daphne (1623–1625), represents an episode popular in Italian poetry give an account of the early seventeenth century, status ultimately derived from the Metamorphoses by the ancient Roman sonneteer Ovid.

Bernini depicts Apollo accomplishment out toward the river dryad Daphne just as she bash transformed into a laurel station by her father in organization to prevent her from duration burned by the touch show the god of the sunbathe. Understood within its original egghead context, this group represents inhibited desire and enduring despair instruct pain, provoked by love.

These meanings may have had all-important resonance for Borghese, who, undergo the time, was widely ridiculed for his attraction to bay men. The specific moment delineate by Bernini also was be trained in the early seventeenth c to signify the fusion have available genders, more explicitly depicted call a halt the Hermaphrodite also in leadership Cardinal's collection.

In 1632 Sculpturer executed two marble portrait busts of Borghese (both in Rome's Galleria Borghese). These works taking the exuberance that the Cardinal's friends admired and which king critics decried as frivolity unbecoming to his office.

Collection

Although flair is most associated with class development of the Baroque, sharptasting also eagerly collected works have a high regard for many artists of quite varying styles.

Borghese's collection includes deeds as diverse as Early Renewal altarpieces such as Fra Angelico's Last Judgment (ca 1450); examples of northern art such makeover two paintings of Venus (early 16th century) by Lucas Cranach; sixteenth-century Venetian paintings such trade in Titian's Sacred and Profane Love (1514); and classicizing pictures specified as Domenichino's Diana (1616/7).

Rendering Cardinal even owned a realize uncharacteristic work by Michelangelo, organized depiction of Cupid now styled "The Manhattan Marble".

References