BORGHESE, CARDINAL SCIPIONE

(1576-1633)

   Cardinal Scipione Borghese was the nephew of Pope Paul V, who made him a cardinal in 1605 upon his ascent to the papal throne. The appointment allowed Cardinal Scipione to amass a vast fortune, which helped finance his art patronage and collecting activities. His Villa Borghese in Rome became a showcase of ancient statuary as well as contemporary art. He commissioned from Gian Lorenzo Bernini the Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius (1619), Pluto and Proserpina (1621-1622), and Apollo and Daphne (1622-1625). From Domenichino he obtained Diana and the Hunt (1617) and from Francesco Albani a series of four mythologies (c. 1618), all of which remain in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. He is also the one who purchased from the Cavaliere D'Arpino Caravaggio's Bacchino Malato, Boy with Basket of Fruits (both 1594; Rome, Galleria Borghese), and Boy Bitten by a Lizard (1595-1596; London, National Gallery).