Jacquemart-André Museum, hardly a 15-minute walk away from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, is an unusual monument in every sense of the word. Built in the 19th century as a private residence for a rich couple that was crazy about art, it was later turned into a museum and art centre, in accordance with the couple’s last request.        

 The museum has unceasingly attracted large crowds but, a year-and-a-half ago, much to the frustration of art enthusiasts, it was closed down for an enormous interior renovation and an improvement of the gardens. This project finally ended in August this year. To celebrate this, the organisers have taken the unprecedented step of transferring to the Jacquemart-André Museum the entire collection of paintings and sculptures from the famed Galleria Borghese in Rome.

It is a mind-boggling experience to visit the show in this now magni­ficently transformed museum that is filled with masterpieces created by 15th and 16th century art legends, and a number of geniuses of the Renaissance and Baroque movements.

The unusual arrangement between the two above-mentioned institutions offers art enthusiasts, Parisians as well as a large number of foreigners, the unique opportunity to watch and admire the chefs d’oeuvres of famous artists from the Renaissance and Baroque ages, which have never before been moved together out of Rome.

Masterpieces from the 15th and 16th century, housed at Galleria Borghese in Rome, are currently on display in Paris

But first, a few words here about the Borghese Gallery itself. The gallery owes its existence not to a millionaire art lover but to a sacred religious figure named Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577–1633) who, despite his restrictive church obligations, was an art enthusiast and who did not hesitate from taking advantage of his religious authority to collect a huge number of paintings and sculptures, as well as antique furniture pieces.

Inspired by his taste for art and an insatiable curiosity for newer techniques, Cardinal Borghese went on acquiring artistic creations and thus became one of the most prominent collectors of the era. He turned his own personal residence, named Villa Borghese at the time, into a museum. Interestingly enough, this venture was carried out a long time before the modern notion of an art museum, open to the masses and not restricted to the nobility alone, came into being.

Following Cardinal Borghese’s wish, the collection was passed down from generation to generation of the Borghese family. In 1902, as times and values were changing, the family decided to hand over their entire residence filled with artworks to the Italian government, thus transforming it into a national institution.

Now, thanks to this unusual arrangement between the Jacquemart-André Museum and the Borghese Gallery, which is currently undergoing its own year-long renovation project, the exhibition is on display in Paris.

Such an adventure was unimaginable only a year ago, but what a pleasure it is now to stand face to face next to the chefs d’oeuvres of Raphael, Antonello da Messina, Parmesan, Michel Tosini, Lorenzo Lotto, Titian, Veronese, Il Caravaggio, Bernini and even a few north European painters who had decided to live and work in Rome for the rest of their lives — artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Gossart, Jan van Scorel and Gerrit van Honthorst, to name only a few!

Based on these names alone, you can probably deduce that the artworks on display here are far too numerous and detailed to sum up here, hence, these select images will have to do them justice — unless, of course, you can plan a quick trip to Paris!

‘Masterpieces from the Borghese Gallery’ is on display at the Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris, France from September 6, 2024-January 5, 2025

The writer is an art critic based in Paris. He can be reached at zafmasud@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 29th, 2024