Day 10: Oh! He's Uncircumcised!

Soooo, today's itinerary: Borghese Museum and Catacombs of St. Priscilla. This has by far been my favorite day from the standpoint of sights. Yes, my first glimpse of Vatican City was awesome, but the sights today were a tad less traveled than those of The Vatican and Colosseum.

The Borghese Museum is home to many famous works of art/artists, namely: Gian Lorenzo Bernini and  Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

I have heard of Bernini's representations of mythological occurrences and other christian pieces, but never thought I would actually be within arms reach of any of them. "Pluto and Proserpina" (Hades dragging Persephone to the underworld), is a masterpiece of detail and emotion. One is able to see the squeezing of Persephone's thigh, the tear dropping from her face, and the laughter of Hades in this act. Proportianally, Hades is much bigger than persephone, and is a anatomist's dream. Every muscle in Hades' body, every vein, is completely distinct. Masterful.

Bernini is also famous for "Apollo and Daphne." According to the myth, Apollo attempts to take Daphne as his lover, but when he tries, Daphne is transformed into a tree. When looking at this statue straight on, this is not completely visible  Rather, it just looks like an unfinished work. (The photo above is aided with lighting. The statue is also so massive in person that it is hard to see the work as a whole at first) However, when one goes to the back side, Daphne's fingers are transforming to twigs with leaves, and her legs have completely become the trunk of a tree. Like Pluto and Proserpina, Apollo's longing for Daphne, and Daphne's fright of the situation is displayed.

Before anything, no the mound of dirt in the photo above is not part of the Borghese Museum. However,  it is a museum for the early christian origin enthusiast who is not completely enthralled with staring at a piece of canvas (with a material value of no more than $50) for an hour at a time. Antonia filled us in on some more pagan symbols incorporated into christianity. Jonah and the Whale made another cameo in fresco form, and we were able to see the supposed earliest depiction of Mary holding baby Jesus. Red flag. I'll go out on a limb and say that this is not the earliest depiction made of Mary and Jesus. Oldest in existence, ehhh maybe. Why would the earliest depiction be in Rome though? It would make more sense for earliest depictions of Mary and Jesus to be around Jerusalem and other parts of what was Galilee. I'll take snippet that with a grain of salt. Plus, our guide was already mad at us for cutting into his lunch break. However, back on subject, whether or not the painting is the earliest depiction, it was a very very early piece and very very mind blowing.

Other observations on that day:

1. In the Borghese Museum, a thought was inspired by a tunic Jesus was wearing in a middle ages burial depiction. The tunic Jesus was wearing had a decorative gold lining on it, probably about an inch wide in proportion. Questions, what is the artist saying here? What was the actual  dress of one being crucified? Where are the earliest depictions of Jesus?...I was able to find one very early crucifixion depiction. Funny enough, the depiction is actually a mocking of Jesus. The "Alexamenos Graffito" (below) shows a donkey crucified. The inscription most likely translates to"Alexamenos worshipping his God." This etching is located in the Palatine Antiquarium Museum in Rome. 

2. Also in the Borghese Museum, I found a rather interesting depiction of Jesus and John the Baptist in their infancy. There were no photos allowed in the museum, so I will do my best to describe the painting. It was of Baroque style, and depicted Jesus on Mary's lap and looking down upon John the Baptist. John is   making a gesture somewhat like one a priest does when giving a blessing. Both babies have hair, and are not newborns by any means. In the Jewish tradition, on the eighth day, a baby was to be circumcised. Well, both babies were flaunting the foreskin. Way to go, unknown artist.