Share The first sculptures and paintings in the Borghese Gallery date back to the collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1576-1633) -- the son of Ortensia Borghese, who was the sister of Pope Paul V -- and Francesco Caffarelli, though a series of losses and acquisitions over the next three centuries have left their mark.
Cardinal Scipione was drawn to works of ancient, Renaissance and contemporary art that might evoke a new, golden age. He was not particularly interested in medieval art, but passionately sought to acquire antiquities. But Cardinal Scipione was also ambitious enough that he promoted the creation of new sculptures, especially marble groups to rival antiquities.
Nowadays, the Galleria's activity is directed towards a better understanding of its collection, with scholars who analyze the major role of the Borghese family's patronage and examine the historical circumstances that gave birth to the Villa and its exceptional holdings.
Today, the Galleria Borghese's collection features outstanding works from the leading artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They include: Raphael's Deposizione; Titian's Amor Sacro e Amor profano, and Venere che benda Amore; Caravaggio's Madonna dei Palafrenieri; Canova's famous Paolina Bonaparte; Dosso's Circe, Correggio's Danae and Bernini's Apollo e Dafne; Cranach's Venere e Amore and Domenichino's Caccia di Diana, as well as the Antiquities collection.
  These works, which are considered key masterpieces by these artists, cannot be moved from the Galleria because they are either to big or too delicate to be lent to international exhibitions. The goal of the Galleria Borghese's ten-year exhibition programme is to further study the artists who are part of the collection while widening the general public's knowledge and appreciation of their work. Each exhibition will focus on the work of a master from the sixteenth and seventeenth century and showcase for the first time -- alongside the Galleria's own masterpieces -- important works loaned by the most prestigious international institutions. Because of the fame of the artists involved and the complex exchanges between major international museums, all efforts were made towards a long-term programme, with exhibitions planned through 2015.
The yearly exhibitions will not have a special venue within the Galleria and the artworks will be displayed alongside the Galleria's own collection on the same floor that usually hosts the artist in question. The reason for that is to let the public admire the artworks on loan together with the original collection. This should create a unique museum where the public can admire the collection and, periodically, gain a better understanding of very well known artists. Finally, in order to make room for the borrowed works, pieces from the permanent collection will be moved to the storage rooms on the third floor of the gallery, which have been opened to the public. This will allow the visitors to enjoy the full body of the Borghese collection, including works that are not generally shown.