The Torlonia Marbles - Restoration and Exhibition

Among the last great princely collections in Rome the Torlonia Museum encapsulates both the ambitions and fate of its era ot only those extraordinary collections but a far broader story spanning an extensive timeline from the desolation of a ruined Rome to the glory of the great museums of our time This distinctive distinction belongs to the Torlonia collection due to its relatively late date which it took shape as well as its unprecedented scale and the high quality of many of the sculptures cluding finally details about their origin often insignia The Torlonia collection is not merely a gathering of exceptionally high-quality Greek and Roman sculptures and also a collection of historical collections crystallizing a cultural process in its very composition at of collecting ancient sculptures in private spaces and beyond a socio-cultural practice which began in Italy particularly in Rome triggering a widespread process at would lead to the magnificent royal collections such as those of the popes or the kings of France and from here later in the creation of a new institution the Public Museum and it too began in Rome when in 1734 Clement XII established on the Capitoline Hill the world's first public museum Together these characteristics make the marble collection truly unique at Prince Alessandro Torlonia intended to dedicate it to a grand family museum The Torlonia Collection of ancient sculpture is a truly spectacular ensemble e most important the largest private collection of ancient sculpture in the world Significant not only for the quality of the pieces it houses and also because these pieces originate not only from excavations sponsored by the Torlonia family From even older private collections selected pieces of exceptional quality The sculptures from the Torlonia Museum tell an extraordinary story not only in terms of art but also in the realm of restoration because it has a particularly remarkable collection of layered artifacts They feature restorations from the 16th 17th and 18th centuries including some very renowned ones This is the Giustiniani Goat a renowned sculpture already famous in the 17th century placed in a position of honor at the center of the palace's gallery The true merit of this sculpture lies not in the ancient body but in the head a modern intervention already attributed in the 17th century to the hand of a great master And the restoration confirmed Gian Lorenzo Pernini's authorship The restoration of this magnificent work by Nilo has been carried out by the Torlonia Foundation with the contribution of Bulgari which sponsored the restoration of all the items in the exhibition Cleaning the sculptures revealed the marble surface and the true appearance of the ancient sculpture And it is through its form and surface that the work establishes a connection with the viewer Thus the exhibition will include additional narrative elements namely the story of the restoration itself a tale in its own right that is deeply engaging