Must-see paintings and sculptures
Apollo Belvedere – the greatest work of art from among all the works of antiquity
Benrnini’s Apollo and Daphne – a rock animated by love
Simon Vouet’s Buona Ventura – the lamentable effects of palm reading
Caravaggio’s Young Sick Bacchus – an artist in the guise or perhaps something much more?
Raphael’s Woman with a Unicorn - an image of a virgin marked by virtue
Bernini’s David – a sculpture testifying to the power of faith and humility
Caravaggio’s David with the Head of Goliath – a victor filled with sorrow
Bernini’s The Ecstasy of St. Teresa – an anthem on the subject of bodily union with God
Gaul Killing Himself and his Wife – meaning, praise of an honorable suicidal death
Laocoön Group – the dramatic story of one arm and its lack
Simon Vouet’s Herodias with the Head of St. John the Baptist – femme fatale of the Baroque
Pietro da Cortona’s The Story of Aeneas – meaning where the pope searched for his roots
Bronzino’s John the Baptist – between cold eroticism and refined devotion
Caravaggio’s St. John the Baptist – a work of art, sacrilege, or child pornography?
Caravaggio’s Judith and Holofernes – a refined mixture of violence and desire
Van Honthorst’s The Concert – singing together or perhaps a peregrination of the prodigal son?
The Temptation of St. Francis – a lesson in the taming of the senses
Raphael’s Fornarina – a mysterious love interest or perhaps…
Antoniazzo Romano’s Legend of the True Cross – miraculousness told in a Renaissance way
Domenichino’s The Hunt of Diana – a painting about spying and its unfortunate results
Jacopo Sansovino’s Madonna del Parto – between a saint and a maid
Madonna delle mani – an indecent work, damaged and found anew
Caravaggio’s Madonna of Loreto - the sanctity of dirty, coarse feet
Andrea Sansovino’s Madonna and Child with St. Anne – a work praised by poets
Carlo Saraceni’s Madonna and Child with St. Anne – an everyday life scene and… a dove
Giovanni Lanfranco’s Apparition of the Virgin to St. Lawrence – a thematic painting yet not bereft of artistry
Bronzino’s Madonna with Child, St. John the Baptist and St. Anne – meaning a song of love sentenced to suffering
Caravaggio’s Madonna and Child with St. Anne – a work despite and against itself
Magdalene Fainting – a bold act (between mystical rapture and sexual ecstasy
Caravaggio’s The Martyrdom of St. Matthew – death among onlookers and terrified passersby
Caravaggio’s The Crucifixion of St. Peter – a painting on the banality of evil
Giovanni Baglioni’s Heavenly Love and Earthly Love – a virtue in the struggle against sin
Michelangelo’s Moses – the remains of a tragic work
Mosaics in the Church of Santa Pudenziana – how the Good Shepherd became a lawgiver
Melozzo da Forlì’s Musical angels – Christ among songs, music and dance
Michelangelo’s Nude Christ – miraculously duplicated
Caravaggio’s Narcissus at the Source – a tragedy of unfulfilled love, or perhaps a story about the essence of art
Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul – meaning how Saul became Paul
The Incredulity of St. Thomas– and how strong is your faith?
Domenico Guidi’s The Lamentation – dramatic pathos, a throng of people, and movement
Domenichino’s The Last Communion of St. Jerome – a work about the superiority of communion under one kind
Pasquino – snide, mean and still today irreplaceable
Antonio Canova’s Pauline Borghese as the Venus Victrix – remember me like this for ages
Michelangelo’s Pietà – an astonishing story of silent suffering
Guercino’s The Funeral of St. Petronilla – a difficult topic, masterfully solved
Guido Reni’s The Penitent Magdalene – between sinful charm and heavenly vision
Portrait of Cardinal Bernardino Spada – a diligent, hard-working, and prudent official
Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X – a real, perceptive and effective portrait
Portrait of Pope Clement IX – a subtle image of a delicate pontifex
Bronzino’s Portrait of Stefano Colonna – a picture-perfect condottiero
Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s The Rape of Proserpina, meaning sanctioned rape
Pietro da Cortona’s Rape of the Sabine Women – all is well that ends well
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius – a symbol of imperial harmony and peace
Ludovica Albertoni – a masterpiece in the shadow of a moral scandal
Bernini’s Statue of St. Bibiana – meaning how to present a virgin in the moment of bliss
Stefano Maderno’s Lying St. Cecilia – a miracle or an elaborate mystification?
Caravaggio’s The Calling of St. Matthew – how a sinner becomes the chosen of God
Raphael’s Fire in the Borgo – a hymn on the subject of more than just antiquity
Carlo Saraceni’s Transitus Mariae – meaning how the Discalced Carmelites co-created the image of the Most Holy Virgin
The Transfiguration – the most divine of all Raphael’s works
The Triumph of Religion Over Heresy by Pierre Le Gros – meaning a Jesuit theatrum sacrum
Van Honthorst’s The Beheading of St. John the Baptist – a work immersed in darkness
Michelangelo’s Vault of the Sistine Chapel – a masterpiece born out of doubt and suffering
Sleeping Hermaphrodite – the ever-present third gender
Raphael’s Stanzas – meaning how the popes had wanted to live
Artemisia Gentileschi’s Saint Cecilia Playing the Lute – an autoportrait in the guise of a saint
Saint Cecilia Distributing Alms to the Poor– a story of the recalcitrant Roman populace
Carlo Saraceni’s St. Cecilia with an Angel - two musicians
The Holy Family with St. Elizabeth, the Young St. John the Baptist, and an Angel – a family meeting with an angel in the background
Caravaggio’s Saint Jerome – the Doctor of the Church as a weapon in the struggle against heretics
Melozzo da Forlì’s Sixtus IV Appointing Platina as Prefect of the Vatican Library – pope as an earthly ruler and a patron of science
Raphael’s’ The School of Athens– a fancy riddle or an alternative history
Raphael’s Triumph of Galatea – beauty and the beast in a Renaissance version
Pietro da Cortona’s Triumph of Divine Providence – family apotheosis, meaning painting to the point of breathlessness
Guido Reni’s Crucifixion of St. Peter – meaning a reason for a duel
Dying Gaul – a funeral rhapsody in memory of the Gauls
The Deliverance of St. Peter– between reality and a vision
Giovanni Lanfranco’s Venus Playing the Harp – a tribute to music or perhaps to love?
Crouching Venus – eavesdropped on for the last two thousand years
Bronzino’s Venus, Cupid, and Satyr – a sublime allegory or a courtly jest?
The Vestal Virgin Tuccia – between virtue and downfall, meaning the story of an unwanted work
Caravaggio’s Fortune Teller – a painting about the dangers of life and the illusion of art
Daniele da Volterra’s The Descent from the Cross – a faded shadow of a great work, meaning the aftermath of vandalism
Caravaggio’s The Entombment of Christ – a perfect work
Dirck van Baburen’s The Entombment of Christ – catching up with Caravaggio
Raphael’s The Deposition – a painting of suffering, the fragility of life and an unforgettable loss
Antoniazzo Romano’s Annunciation – meaning, how the Virgin Mary can miss the most important moment of her life
The Temptation of St. Francis – a lesson in the taming of the senses
It is not often that we can discover such artistically excellent, moving, and at the same time sensual and sexual works within church interiors. The protagonist of the aforementioned painting is Francis of Assisi – a saint who often appears in Catholic iconography during the post-Trent period – a humble monk, venerated for his noble life, spent in poverty. However, here we see him in an exceptional scene, in which he unveils his human needs, and at the same time struggles against them. This is a warning and a message all in one – how to control one's senses in the face of tem...
See moreCardinal Bernardino Spada (1594–1661) – a dream about the grandeur of his own family
Cardinal Spada was a sensible and trustworthy man – diligent and intelligent, he climbed the ladder of a Church career slowly and reasonably. He had great ambitions, although ultimately he was unable to sit upon the papal throne. But he never stopped thinking about it and all his actions, focused on bringing his insignificant in the Eternal City family into the ranks of the black aristocracy, served this purpose. Who was then, this diligent and private official with extraordinary ambitions?
See moreChapel del Monte di Pietà – a bombastic symbol of the struggle against usury
There is a place in Rome that can be visited only once a year. It is found in an inaccessible palace that currently belongs to a bank, but in the past was connected to an organization that had very little to do with a bank. This place is almost overbearing with its decorativeness, but at the same time, it captivates us with its exquisite selection of materials and the virtuosity of the works of art adorning it. The only surprising fact is that the chapel in question was created for a small number of members of a charitable organization that struggled against usury and brought help to the needy...
See more Zgodnie z art. 13 ust. 1 i ust. 2 rozporządzenia Parlamentu Europejskiego i Rady (UE) 2016/679 z 27 kwietnia 2016 r. w sprawie ochrony osób fizycznych w związku z przetwarzaniem danych osobowych i w sprawie swobodnego przepływu takich danych oraz uchylenia dyrektywy 95/46/WE (RODO), informujemy, że Administratorem Pani/Pana danych osobowych jest firma: Econ-sk GmbH, Billbrookdeich 103, 22113 Hamburg, Niemcy
Przetwarzanie Pani/Pana danych osobowych będzie się odbywać na podstawie art. 6 RODO i w celu marketingowym Administrator powołuje się na prawnie uzasadniony interes, którym jest zbieranie danych statystycznych i analizowanie ruchu na stronie internetowej. Podanie danych osobowych na stronie internetowej http://roma-nonpertutti.com/ jest dobrowolne.
