The Farnese Collection is one of the first collections of artistic items from Greco-Roman antiquity. It includes some of the most influential classical works, including the sculptures that were part of the Farnese Marbles, their collection of statuary, which includes world-famous works like the

Farnese Hercules The ''Farnese Hercules'' () is an ancient statue of Hercules made in the early third century AD and signed by Glykon, who is otherwise unknown; he was an Athenian but he may have worked in Rome. Like many other Ancient Roman sculptures it is a ...

, Farnese Cup, Farnese Bull and the

Farnese Atlas The Farnese Atlas is a 2nd-century CE Ancient Rome, Roman marble sculpture of Atlas (mythology), Atlas holding up a celestial globe. Probably a copy of an earlier work of the Hellenistic period, it is the oldest extant statue of Atlas (mythology) ...

. These statues are now displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples in Italy with some in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

in London.

History

The items in the collection were acquired or requisitioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, who became

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

(1534–1549). Classical artworks were routinely uncovered in Roman lands, and during the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

had become much desired. Many were family heirlooms of prominent families in Rome. Alessandro purchased the Sassi and Bernardino Fabio collections, confiscated the Colonna collection, and received the collection of Cardinal Federico Cesi as a donation. Other works were bought in the antiques market, including works that were appearing as part of excavations and construction throughout the city.

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

had designed internal niches to display statuary in the massive

Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French e ...

(1546) in Rome. Many of the most famous works in the Farnese collection, such as the

and the Farnese Bull,

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

, and others were all found at the

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla () in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, during the reigns of empero ...

. The Farnese collection was further enlarged by the Pope's nephew, another Cardinal Alessandro, by the purchase of the Del Bufalo and Cesarini collections. It also included the inheritance left in 1587 by

Margaret of Parma Margaret (; 5 July 1522 – 18 January 1586) was Duchess of Parma from 1547 to 1586 as the wife of Duke Ottavio Farnese and Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of Ch ...

, the widow first of Alessandro de Medici and then of Ottavio Farnese. She also possessed a collection of famous

engraved gem An engraved gem, frequently referred to as an intaglio, is a small and usually semi-precious gemstone that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face. The engraving of gemstones was a major lux ...

s, which formerly belonged to

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

, including the Farnese Cup, and important marble sculptures such as the Pergamene statues. The Farnese's trusted collector and antiquarian

Fulvio Orsini Fulvio Orsini (11 December 1529 – 18 May 1600) was an Italian humanist, historian, and archaeologist. He was a descendant of the Orsini family, one of the oldest, most illustrious, and for centuries most powerful of the Roman princely families ...

aided in shopping for other works and on his death, left his collection of gems, coins and busts to Odoardo Farnese. Among the works were two statues of Hercules and two statues of Flora; the two Gladiators were placed beneath the arches of the courtyard of the Palazzo; while the Farnese Bull was placed in a special enclosure in the second courtyard.

Display

Inside ancient statues were arranged according to themes within the Farnese Palace. In the Gran Salone, the Sala degli Imperatori, the Sala dei Filosofi and the Galleria dei Carracci were valuable marbles. The

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci ( , , ; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother Agostino Carracci, Agostino and cousin Ludovico Carracci, Ludovico (with whom the Ca ...

ceiling frescoes depicting '' The Loves of the Gods'' were painted not only to celebrate a wedding, but also commented on statuary in the niches below the frescoes.

Move to Naples

The Farnese family, who had become

Dukes of Parma The Duke of Parma and Piacenza () was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a historical state of Northern Italy. It was created by Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese) for his son Pier Luigi Farnese. It existed between 1545 and 1802, ...

lost its last male heir upon the death of Antonio Farnese of Parma, and thus the collection passed through

Elisabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese (Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel de Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She was the '' de facto'' ruler of Spain from 1714 until 1746, since she managed ...

, who married King

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

, to their son Charles of Bourbon, who became

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first Sicilian Vespers, separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou ...

and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

in 1734. He then decided to move the Parmesan collections to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. His son

Ferdinand IV of Naples Ferdinand I ( Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand IV and King of Sicily as Ferdinand III. He was ...

brought the Roman collections to Naples in 1787, despite the strong opposition of the Papacy. Many of the marble sculptures were restored by

Carlo Albacini Carlo Albacini (1734 — 1813) was an Italian sculptor and restorer of Ancient Roman sculpture. He was a pupil of Bartolomeo Cavaceppi, an eminent sculptor and restorer of Rome. Albacini was notable for his copies after classical originals such ...

(1735–1813). The classical sculptures of the Farnese collections are still exhibited together at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Most of the paintings, on the other hand, have been moved to the

Museo di Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy designed by Giovanni Antonio Medrano. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with se ...

, also in Naples, with some other works from the collections moved to the Pinacoteca of the

and Collegio Alberoni of Piacenza, the Galleria nazionale di Parma, and the

.British Museum Collection
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Principal sculptures

The collection contains many copies of ancient Greek statues, and provides a broad review of classic Roman sculpture. Among the principal sculptural works are:

In the National Archaeological Museum of Naples

* the

* the Farnese Cup * the Farnese Bull * the Farnese Artemis * the Farnese Flora * the Farnese Gladiator * the Venus Kallipygos * the

* the Farnese Athena

In the British Museum, London

* the Farnese Hermes * the Farnese Diadumenos

References

External links

Naples National Archeological Museum website
{{Commons category, Farnese Collection 2nd-century BC Greek sculptures * Collection of the Museo di Capodimonte Royal Palace of Naples Hellenistic sculpture