Together with the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel in Rome, the Doria Pamphilj Gallery stands out among the Roman museums, a vast private collection that can be admired in the Doria Pamphilj Palace.
If the visit to the Museums of Rome requires time, patience and passion because there are so many things to see and this was the largest private palace in Rome is no exception. Here you will find many works that deserve the proper attention of masters such as Velasquez, Parmigianino or Caravaggio to name just a few.
Fonte: dal web
Both the history and the characteristics of the gallery are so interesting and rich in details that they are simply unmissable.
Brief history of the Doria Pamphilj Gallery
The Doria Pamphilj Gallery was established in 1651 at the behest of Giambattista Pamphilj, who became Pope with the name of Innocent X, following a fidecommisso linked to primogeniture, which fell on his nephew Camillo.
Even before this date, the Pamphilj collection had been enriched both with a first portrait of Innocent X, and with numerous works (purchased by Camillo) by Titian, Raphael, Beccafumi and Parmigianino.
Camillo was a great art lover, which is quite evident from his later purchases: several works by Caravaggio, Bolognese paintings, paintings by Claude Lorrain and some goodies of Flemish artists.
Fonte: dal web
Given the large number of works in possession, it was necessary to find a suitable location; the choice, in the end, fell on an ancient palace in Via del Corso, formerly belonged to the Della Rovere and the Aldobrandini. Inside, the “Room of Paintings”, the “Room of Animals” and the “Room of Countries” had already been set up.
Camillo continued until his death to enrich the collection, with works by Bronzino and Sebastiano del Piombo. The palace was officially renamed Doria Pamphilj and, in the nineteenth century, the last purchase of works was made: several paintings by Memling and Lippi.
The Doria Pamphilj Palace
The more Camillo’s fortune expanded, the more Palazzo Doria Pamphilj needed to be enlarged, so much so that it became the largest private residential building in all of Rome.
Most of the collection is housed in state rooms, which also include the chapel designed by Carlo Fontana. The most important nucleus, however, is exposed in a succession of 4 decorated and frescoed galleries surrounding the wonderful Renaissance courtyard (probably by Bramante) and consisting of the exhibition arms made by the architect Gabriele Valvassori. The layout of the paintings is by the architect Francesco Nicoletti.
Fonte: dal web
The first to open the doors of Palazzo Doria Pamphilj was Prince Filippo Andrea VI Doria Pamphilj, on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1950; subsequently, Donna Orietta and Don Frank Pogson Doria Pamphilj invested in numerous restorations of the palace.
Since 2013, Palazzo Doria Pamphilj has been owned by Trust Doria Pamphilj, an Italian trust founded by the same family to manage the collection.
The Doria Pamphilj Collection
The collection exhibited in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery is really immense: the works, statues and furnishings were made by artists such as Jacopo Tintoretto, Titian, Raffaello Sanzio, Correggio, Caravaggio, Guercino, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Parmigianino, Gaspard Dughet, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Velázquez and many other important artists.
The most famous painting of the entire collection remains, however, the portrait of Giovanni Battista Pamphilj, Pope Innocent X, made by the Spanish artist Diego Velàzquez in 1650, which was also recognized as one of the greatest portraits of the seventeenth century because it can perfectly express the psychological traits of the character. Pope Innocent X, in fact, is remembered for his vivid and omnipresent gaze, a characteristic that can be seen as soon as you admire the portrait.
Fonte: dal web
Velázquez’s work is so important that, since 1927, it has been in a separate room entirely dedicated to Pope Innocent X.Over the years, Donna Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphilj has also enriched the collection; it is thanks to her, in fact, the arrival of some masterpieces by Caravaggio.
Later, however, thanks to the marriage between Prince Camillo Pamphilj and Princess Olimpia Aldobrandini, several Renaissance paintings such as Titian’s Salome, the Parmigianino’s Nativity, the Double Portrait of Raphael have also entered the collection, Dido by Dosso Dossi and paintings by Mazzolino and Garofalo, as well as lunettes with the Stories of the Virgin by Annibale Carracci.
The acquisitions of works of art have certainly not stopped here, indeed: just think of the numerous commissions of Cardinal Benedetto Pamphilj and Prince Girolamo Pamphilj, the legacy of the Facchinetti and the dynastic union with the Doria Landi princes. A real artistic fortune, to be discovered in your next trip to Rome.
Copertina: tourismmedia.italia