The Borghese Vase.

The Borghese Vase.

Tweet I was at the Borghese Gallery with some delightful clients from North Carolina a couple of weeks ago, and the “Museum of the Universe” was looking particularly splendid. I’m usually a little perplexed by the annual exhibition staged at the Borghese; there’s...
The Borghese Vase.

Breaking rules and squeezing pediments.

Tweet I have recently been in something of a Baroque phase, as my previous posts on the Gesù, and this piece at arttrav on Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale suggest. Just a stone’s throw from Sant’Andrea, is San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, one of my favourite Roman churches....
Special effects and the Baroque.

Special effects and the Baroque.

Tweet A couple of weeks ago, in my post on the ceiling of the church of the Gesù, I mentioned that I would be taking a school group to the church. And so I did. They arrived from London on the Friday afternoon and ditched their bags at their hotel just off the Campo...
The Bessarion Chapel.

The Bessarion Chapel.

Tweet If I could travel in time there are umpteen periods I’d love to visit. If I could only choose one, I think I’d go for the mid 1400s. The quattrocento has always struck me as an exciting period, an intermingling of strife and elegance. And there were some...
The ceiling vault of the Gesù.

The ceiling vault of the Gesù.

Tweet I dropped into the Gesù yesterday because I’m going to start a few days with a group of sixth-formers by visiting the church next week. They’re studying the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, and the Gesù is a bombastic place to start. Plus it’s close to...