Enfilade

Crucial for Roman culture in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Farnese Palace and its collections were also important for eighteenth-century artists and connoisseurs. Upon the death of Antonio Farnese in 1731, the family line came to an end, and the building passed to the Bourbons (hence the subsequent relocation of the collection to Naples). The current exhibition provides an extraordinary opportunity to view the building’s interior and some of the most important objects from the Farnese collection in their early modern setting. From www.france.fr . . .

The Farnese Palace: From the Renaissance to the French Embassy
Farnese Palace, Rome, 17 December 2010 — 27 April 2011

Giuseppe Vasi,"Palazzo Farnese," mid-eighteenth century

For this exhibition, the Farnese collection (the “Museum Farnesianum”) will return to its original premises. For the first time in centuries, the historic rooms of the emperors and philosophers will be recreated and the famous Dacian Prisoners will resume their place beside the door of the Grand Salon. The return of these exceptional works to “their” palace was made possible by the generous loan from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The Palace courtyard will be home to the monumental statue of Apollo Citharoedus made of porphyry and marble, known as Roma triumphans at the time, and will be filled virtually with the imposing silhouettes of the Farnese Hercules and the Latin Hercules, but also the Farnese Bull. Among the most important pieces of furniture are the Farnese cabinet from Ecouen Museum, a precious item of furniture from the Renaissance made by Flaminio Boulanger to contain the collection of coins, intaglios and meats of the Farneses. Tapestries from Quirinal, on loan from the President of the Republic of Italy and Chambord Castle, will be returned to the salons of the “noble floor,” as will Renaissance ceramics.

The collection of preparatory drawings by Annibale Carracci, coming from the Louvre Museum in particular, and the frescoes of the Fava Palace in Bologna will illustrate the creation of the famous Carracci Gallery. The opulent collection of paintings will return to the Northeast Gallery. The Portrait of Pope Paul III by Titian, Christ and the Canaanite Woman painted by Annibale Carracci for the private chapel of Cardinal Odoardo Farnese, works by Sebastiano del Piombo, the Carracci and Greco will all testify to the quality of the spectacular Farnese collection. Most of the aforementioned paintings come from the Capodimonte National Museum in Naples along with the galleries in Parma and Bologna.

This exceptional exhibition is a unique occasion for the public to rediscover the splendours of the Pomp of the Farneses. It will enable them to relive the intertwined histories of the popes, cardinals, kings, ambassadors and artists who, for five centuries, lived and came together at the Farnese Palace, helping to make it an exceptional place.