"Rome personnifiée, cette déesse à laquelle on érigea des temples, voulut d'abord être une Amazone, ce qui se conçoit, car elle était guerrière avant tout. C'est sous la forme de Minerve que Rome est assise sur la place du Capitole."—Ampère, Hist. Romaine, iii. 242.
In the interior of this building the Hall of the Senators contains some papal statues, and that of Charles of Anjou, who was made senator of Rome in the thirteenth century.
The Tower of the Capitol contains the great bell of Viterbo, carried off from that town during the wars of the middle ages, which is never rung except to announce the death of a pope, or the opening of the carnival. During the closing years of the temporal power of the popes, it has been difficult to obtain admission to the tower, but the ascent is well repaid by the view from the summit, which embraces not only the seven hills of Rome, but the various towns and villages of the neighbouring plain and mountains which successively fell under its dominion.
"Pour suivre les vicissitudes des luttes extérieures des Romains contre les peuples qui les entourent et les pressent de tous côtés, nous n'aurons qu'à regarder à l'horizon la sublime campagne romaine et ces montagnes qui l'encadrent si admirablement. Elles sont encore plus belles et l'œil prend encore plus de plaisir à les contempler quand on songe à ce qu'elles ont vu d'efforts et de courage dans les premiers temps de la république. Il n'est presque pas un point de cette campagne qui n'ait été témoin de quelque rencontre glorieuse; il n'est presque un rocher de ces montagnes qui n'est été pris et repris vingt fois.
"Toutes ces nations sabelliques qui dominaient la ville du Tibre et semblaient placées là sur des hauteurs disposées en demi-cercle pour l'envelopper et l'écraser, toutes ces nations sont devant nous et à la portée du regard.
"Voici de côté de la mer les montagnes des Volsques; plus à l'est sont les Herniques et les Æques; au nord, les Sabins; à l'ouest, d'autres ennemis, les Etrusques, dont le mont Ciminus est le rempart.
"Au sud, la plaine se prolonge jusqu'à la mer. Ici sont les Latins, qui, n'ayant pas des montagnes pour leur servir de citadelle et de refuge, commenceront par être des alliés.
"Nous pouvons donc embrasser le panorama historique des premiers combats qu'eurent à soutenir et que soutinrent si vaillamment les Romains affranchis."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. ii. 373.
Beneath the Palace of the Senator (entered by a door in the street on the right), are the gigantic remains of the Tabularium, consisting of huge rectangular blocks of peperino supporting a Doric colonnade, which is shown by an inscription still preserved to have been that of the public Record Office, where the Tabulæ, engraved plates bearing important decrees of the Senate, were preserved, having been placed there by Q. Lutatius Catulus in B.C. 79. A gallery in the interior of the Tabularium has been fitted up as a museum of architectural antiquities collected from the neighbouring temples. This building is as it were the boundary between inhabited Rome and that Rome which is a city of ruins.
"I came to the Capitol, and looked down on the other side. There before my eyes opened an immense grave, and out of the grave rose a city of monuments in ruins, columns, triumphal arches, temples, and palaces, broken, ruinous, but still beautiful and grand,—with a solemn mournful beauty! It was the giant apparition of ancient Rome."—Frederika Bremer.
The traces of an ancient staircase still exist, which led down from the Tabularium to the Forum. This is believed by many to have been the path by which the besiegers under Vitellius, A.D. 69, attacked the Capitol.
The east side of the piazza—on the left as one stands at the head of the steps—is the Museo Capitolino (open daily from 9 to 4, for a fee; and on Mondays and Thursdays gratis, from 2½ to 4½).
Above the fountain in the court, opposite the entrance, reclines the colossal statue of a river-god, called Marforio, removed hither from the end of the Via di Marforio (Forum Martis?) near the arch of Severus. This figure, according to Roman fancy, was the friend and gossip of Pasquin (at the Palazzo Braschi), and lively dialogues, merciless to the follies of the government and the times, used to appear with early morning, placarded on their respective pedestals, as passing between the two. Thus, when Clement XI. mulcted Rome of numerous sums to send to his native Urbino, Marforio asked, "What is Pasquino doing?" The next morning Pasquin answered, "I am taking care of Rome, that it does not go away to Urbino." In the desire of putting an end to such inconvenient remarks, the government ordered the removal of one of the statues to the Capitol, and, since Marforio has been shut up, Pasquino has lost his spirits.
From the corridor on the ground floor open several rooms devoted to ancient inscriptions and sarcophagi with bas-reliefs. The first room on the left has some bronzes—in the centre a mutilated horse, found, 1849, in the Trastevere.
"Calamis, venu un peu avant Phidias, n'eut point de rival pour les chevaux. Calamis, qui fut fondeur en bronze, serait-il l'auteur du cheval de bronze du Capitole, qui, en effet, semble plutôt un peu antérieur que postérieur à Phidias?"—Ampère, Hist. Rom. iii. 234.
At the foot of the staircase is a colossal statue of the Emperor Hadrian, found on the Cœlian.
The Staircase is lined with the fragments of the Pianta Capitolina, a series of marble slabs of imperial date (found in the sixteenth century under SS. Cosmo and Damian), inscribed with ground plans of Rome, and exceedingly important from the light they throw upon the ancient topography of the city.
The upper Corridor is lined with statues and busts. Here and elsewhere we will only notice those especially remarkable for beauty or historic interest.[40]
L. 12. Satyr playing on a flute.
R. 13. Cupid bending his bow.
R. 20. Old woman intoxicated.
"Tout le monde a remarqué dans le musée du Capitole une vieille femme serrant des deux mains une bouteille, la bouche entr'ouverte, les yeux mourants tournés vers le ciel, comme si, dans la jubilation de l'ivresse, elle savourait le vin qu'elle vient de boire. Comment ne pas voir dans cette caricature en marbre une reproduction de la Vielle Femme ivre de Myron, qui passait pour une des curiosités de Smyrne."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. iii. 272.
L. 26. The infant Hercules strangling a serpent.
L. 28. Grand Sarcophagus—the Rape of Proserpine.
R. 33. Satyr playing on a flute.
(In the wall on the left inscriptions from the columbarium of Livia.)
R. 43. Head of Ariadne.
L. 48. Sarcophagus—the birth and childhood of Bacchus.
L. 56. Statue, draped.
R. 64. Jupiter, on a cippus with a curious relief of Claudia drawing the boat with the image of the Magna Mater up the Tiber.
L. 69. Bust of Caligula.
R. 70. Marcus Aurelius, as a boy—a very beautiful bust.
R. 70. Statue of Minerva from Velletri. The same as that in the Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican.
R. 72. Trajan.
76. In the window, a magnificent vase, found near the tomb of Cecilia Metella, standing on a puteal adorned with reliefs of the twelve principal gods and goddesses.
From the right of this corridor open two chambers. The first is named the Room of the Doves, from the famous mosaic found in the ruins of Hadrian's villa near Tivoli, and generally called Pliny's Doves, because Pliny, when speaking of the perfection to which the mosaic art had attained, describes a wonderful mosaic of Sosus of Pergamos, in which one dove is seen drinking and casting her shadow on the water, while others are pluming themselves on the edge of the vase. As a pendant to this is another Mosaic, of a Tragic and Comic Mask. In the farther window is the Iliac Tablet, an interesting relief in the soft marble called palombino, relating to the story of the destruction of Troy, and the flight of Æneas, and found at Bovillæ.
"L'ensemble de la guerre contre Troie est contenu dans un abrégé figuré qu'on appelle la Table Iliaque, petit bas-relief destiné à offrir un résumé visible de cette guerre aux jeunes Romains, et à servir dans les écoles soit pour l'Iliade, soit pour les poëmes cycliques comme d'un Index parlant.
"La Table Iliaque est un ouvrage romain fait à Rome. Tout ce qui touche aux origines troyennes de cette ville, inconnues à Homère et célébrées surtout par Stésichore avant de l'être par Virgile, tient dans ce bas-relief une place importante et domine dans sa composition."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. iii. 431.
In the centre of the room is a pretty statuette of a girl shielding a dove.
The second chamber, known as The Reserved Cabinet, contains the famous Venus of the Capitol—a Greek statue, found immured in a wall upon the Quirinal.
"La vérité et la complaisance avec lesquelles la nature est rendue dans la Vénus du Capitole faisaient de cette belle statue,—qui pourtant n'a rien d'indécent bien que par une pruderie peu chaste on l'ait reléguée dans un cabinet réservé,—faisaient de cette belle statue un sujet de scandale pour l'austérité des premiers chrétiens. C'était sans doute afin de la soustraire à leurs mutilations qu'on l'avait enfouie avec soin, ce qui l'a conservée dans son intégrité; ainsi son danger l'a sauvée. Comme on l'a trouvée dans le quartier suspect de la Suburra, on peut supposer qu'elle ornait l'atrium élégant de quelque riche courtisane."—Ampère, iii. 318.
The two smaller sculptures of Leda and the Swan, and Cupid and Psyche—two lovely children embracing (most needlessly secluded here), were found on the Aventine.
From the end of the gallery we enter
The Hall of the Emperors. In the centre is the beautiful seated statue of Agrippina (grand-daughter of Augustus—wife of Germanicus—and mother of Caligula).
"On s'arrête avec respect devant la première Agrippine, assise avec une si noble simplicité et dont le visage exprime si bien la fermeté virile."—Ampère, iv.
"Ici nous la contemplons telle que nous pouvons nous la figurer après la mort de Germanicus. Elle semble mise aux fers par le destin, mais sans pouvoir encore renoncer aux pensées superbes dont son âme était remplie aux jours de son bonheur."—Braun.
Round the room are ranged 83 busts of Roman emperors, empresses, and their near relations, forming perhaps the most interesting portrait gallery in the world. Even viewed as works of art, many of them are of the utmost importance. They are—
1. Julius Cæsar, nat. B.C. 100; ob. B.C. 44.
2. Augustus, Imp. B.C. 12—A.D. 14.
3. Marcellus, his nephew and son-in-law, son of Octavia, ob. B.C. 23, aged 20.
4, 5. Tiberius, Imp. A.D. 14-37.
6. Drusus, his brother, son of Livia and Claudius Nero, ob. B.C. 10.
7. Drusus, son of Tiberius and Vipsania, ob. A.D. 23.
8. Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia, wife of the elder Drusus, mother of Germanicus and Claudius.
9. Germanicus, son of Drusus and Antonia, ob. A.D. 19.
10. Agrippina, daughter of Julia and Agrippa, granddaughter of Augustus, wife of Germanicus. Died of starvation under Tiberius, A.D. 33.
11. Caligula, Imp. A.D. 37-41, son of Germanicus and Agrippina. Murdered by the tribune Cherœa (in basalt).
12. Claudius, Imp. A.D. 41-54, younger son of Drusus and Antonia. Poisoned by Agrippina.
13. Messalina, third wife of Claudius. Put to death by Claudius, A.D. 48.
"Une grosse commère sensuelle, aux traits bouffis, à l'air assez commun, mais qui pouvait plaire à Claude."—Ampère, Emp. ii. 32.
14. Agrippina the younger, sixth wife of Claudius, daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the elder, great-granddaughter of Augustus. Murdered by her son Nero, A.D. 60.
"Ce buste la montre avec cette beauté plus grande que celle de sa mère, et qui était pour elle un moyen. Agrippine a les yeux levés vers le ciel, on dirait qu'elle craint, et qu'elle attend."—Emp. ii. 34.
15, 16. Nero, Imp. A.D. 54-69, son of Agrippina the younger by her first husband, Ahenobarbus. Died by his own hand.
17. Poppæa Sabina (?), second wife of Nero. Killed by a kick from
her husband, A.D. 62.
"Ce visage a la délicatesse presque enfantine que pouvait offrir celui de cette femme, dont les molles recherches et les soins curieux de toilette étaient célèbres, et dont Diderot a dit avec vérité, bien qu'avec un peu d'emphase, 'C'était une furie sous le visage des grâces.'"—Emp. ii. 38.
18. Galba, Imp. A.D. 69. Murdered in the Forum.
19. Otho, Imp. A.D. 69. Died by his own hand.
20. Vitellius (?), Imp. A.D. 69. Murdered at the Scalæ Gemoniæ.
21. Vespasian, Imp. A.D. 70-79.
22. Titus, Imp. A.D. 79-81. Supposed to have been poisoned by Domitian.
23. Julia, daughter of Titus.
24. Domitian, Imp. A.D. 81-96, son of Vespasian. Murdered in the Palace of the Cæsars.
"Domitien est sans comparaison le plus beau des trois Flaviens: mais c'est une beauté formidable, avec un air farouche et faux."—Emp. ii. 12.
25. Longina (?).
26. Nerva (?), Imp. A.D. 96.
27. Trajan, Imp. A.D. 98-118.
28. Plotina, wife of Trajan.
29. Marciana, sister of Trajan.
30. Matidia, daughter of Marciana, niece of Trajan.
31, 32. Hadrian, Imp. A.D. 118-138, adopted son of Trajan.
33. Julia Sabina, wife of Hadrian, daughter of Matidia.
34. Elius Verus, first adopted son of Hadrian.
35. Antoninus Pius, Imp. A.D. 138-161, second adopted son of Hadrian.
36. Faustina the elder, wife of Antoninus Pius and sister of Elius Verus.
37. Marcus Aurelius, Imp. A.D. 161-180, son of Servianus by Paulina, sister of Hadrian, adopted by Antoninus Pius, as a boy.
38. Marcus Aurelius, in later life.
39. Annia Faustina, wife of Marcus Aurelius, daughter of Antoninus Pius and Faustina the elder.
40. Galerius Antoninus, son of Antoninus Pius.
41. Lucius Verus, son-in-law of Marcus Aurelius.
42. Lucilla, wife of Lucius Verus, daughter of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the younger. Put to death at Capri for a plot against her husband.
43. Commodus, Imp. A.D. 180-193, son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina. Murdered in the Palace of the Cæsars.
44. Crispina, wife of Commodus. Put to death by her husband at Capri.
45. Pertinax, Imp. A.D. 193, successor of Commodus, reigned three months. Murdered in the Palace of the Cæsars.
46. Didius Julianus, Imp. A.D. 193, successor of Pertinax. Murdered in the Palace of the Cæsars.
47. Manlia Scantilla (?), wife of Didius Julianus.
| 48. Pescennius Niger, 49. Clodius Albinus, |
—rival candidates (after murder of Didius Julianus, A.D. 193) for the Empire, which they failed to obtain, and were both put to death. |
50, 51. Septimius Severus, Imp. A.D. 193-211, successor of Didius Julianus.
52. Julia Pia, wife of Septimius Severus.
53. Caracalla, Imp. A.D. 211-217, son of Sept. Severus and Julia Pia. Murdered.
54. Geta, brother of Caracalla, by whose order he was murdered in the arms of Julia Pia.
55. Macrinus, Imp. A.D. 217, murderer and successor of Caracalla. Murdered.
56. Diadumenianus, son of Macrinus. Murdered with his father.
57. Heliogabalus, Imp. A.D. 218—222, son of Julia Soemis, daughter of Julia Mœsa, who was sister of Julia Pia. Murdered.
58. Annia Faustina, third wife of Heliogabalus, great-granddaughter of Marcus Aurelius.
59. Julia Mœsa, sister-in-law of Septimius Severus, aunt of Caracalla, and grandmother of Alexander Severus.
60. Alexander Severus, Imp., son of Julia Mammea, second daughter of Julia Mœsa. Murdered at the age of 30.
61. Julia Mammea, daughter of Julia Mœsa, and mother of Alexander Severus. Murdered with her son.
62. Julius Maximinus, Imp. 235—238; elected by the army. Murdered.
63. Maximus. Murdered with his father, at the age of 18.
64. Gordianus Africanus, Imp. 238; a descendant of Trajan. Died by his own hand.
65. (Antoninus) Gordianus, Junior, Imp. 238, son of Gordianus Africanus and Fabia Orestella, great-granddaughter of Antoninus Pius. Died in battle.
| 66. Pupienus, Imp. 238, 67. Balbinus, Imp. 238, |
reigned together for four months and then were murdered. |
68. Gordianus Pius, Imp. 238, grandson, through his mother, of Gordianus Africanus. Murdered.
69. Philip II., Imp. 244, son of, and co-emperor with Philip I. Murdered.
70. Decius(?), Imp. 249—251. Forcibly elected by the army. Killed in battle.
71. Quintus Herennius Etruscus, son of Decius and Herennia Etruscilla. Killed in battle with his father.
72. Hostilianus, son or son-in-law of Decius, Imp. 251, with Treb. Gallus. Murdered.
73. Trebonianus Gallus, Imp. 251—254. Murdered.
74, 75. Volusianus, son of Trebonianus Gallus. Murdered.
76. Gallienus, Imp. 261—268. Murdered.
77. Salonina, wife of Gallienus.
78. Saloninus, son of Gallienus and Salonina. Put to death by Postumus, A.D. 259, at the age of 17.
79. Marcus Aurelius Carinus, Imp. 283, son of the Emperor Carus. Murdered.
80. Diocletian, Imp. 284-305; elected by the army.
81. Constantinus Chlorus, Imp. 305-306, son of Eutropius and Claudia, niece of the Emperor Claudius and Quintilius, father of Constantine the Great.
82. Julian the Apostate, Imp. 361-363, son of Julius Constantius and nephew of Constantine the Great. Died in battle.
83. Magnus Decentius, brother of the Emperor Magnentius. Strangled himself, 353.
"In their busts the lips of the Roman emperors are generally closed, indicating reserve and dignity, free from human passions and emotions."—Winckelmann.
"At Rome the emperors become as familiar as the popes. Who does not know the curly-headed Marcus Aurelius, with his lifted brow and projecting eyes—from the full round beauty of his youth to the more haggard look of his latest years? Are there any modern portraits more familiar than the severe wedge-like head of Augustus, with his sharp cut lips and nose,—or the dull phiz of Hadrian, with his hair combed down over his low forehead,—or the vain, perking face of Lucius Verus, with his thin nose, low brow, and profusion of curls,—or the brutal bull head of Caracalla,—or the bestial, bloated features of Vitellius?
"These men, who were but lay figures to us at school, mere pegs of names to hang historic robes upon, thus interpreted by the living history of their portraits, the incidental illustrations of the places where they lived and moved and died, and the buildings and monuments they erected, become like men of yesterday. Art has made them our contemporaries. They are as near to us as Pius VII. and Napoleon."—Story's Roba di Roma.
"Nerva est le premier des bons, et Trajan le premier des grands empereurs romains; après lui il y en eut deux autres, les deux Antonins. Trois sur soixante-dix, tel est à Rome le bilan des gloires morales de l'empire."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. liii.
Among the reliefs round the upper walls of this room are two,—of Endymion sleeping, and of Perseus delivering Andromeda, which belong to the set in the Palazzo Spada, and are exceedingly beautiful.
The Hall of Illustrious Men contains a seated statue of M. Claudius Marcellus (?), the conqueror of Syracuse, B.C. 212. Round the room are ranged 93 busts of ancient philosophers, statesmen, and warriors. Among the more important are:—
| 4, 5, 6. | Socrates. | 48. | Cneius Domitius Corbulo, general under Claudius and Nero. |
| 9. | Aristides, the orator. | 49. | Scipio Africanus. |
| 10. | Seneca (?). | 52. | Cato Minor. |
| 16. | Marcus Agrippa. | 54. | Aspasia(?). |
| 19. | Theophrastus. | 55. | Cleopatra (?). |
| 23. | Thales. | 60. | Thucydides (?). |
| 25. | Theon. | 61. | Æschines. |
| 27. | Pythagoras. | 62, 64. | Epicurus. |
| 28. | Alexander the Great(?). | 63. | Epicurus and Metrodorus. |
| 30. | Aristophanes. | 68, 69. | Masinissa. |
| 31. | Demosthenes. | 71. | Antisthenes. |
| 38. | Aratus. | 72, 73. | Julian the Apostate. |
| 39, 40. | Democritus of Aldera. | 75. | Cicero. |
| 42, 43. | Euripides. | 76. | Terence. |
| 44, 45, 46. | Homer. | 82. | Æschylus (?). |
| 47. | Eumenides. |
Among the interesting bas-reliefs in this room is one of a Roman interior with a lady trying to persuade her cat to dance to a lyre—the cat, meanwhile, snapping, on its hind legs, at two ducks; the detail of the room is given—even to the slippers under the bed.
The Saloon contains, down the centre,
1. Jupiter (in nero-antico), from Porto d'Anzio, on an altar with figures of Mercury, Apollo, and Diana.
2, 4. Centaurs (in bigio-morato), by Aristeas and Papias (their names are on the bases), from Hadrian's villa.
3. The young Hercules, found on the Aventine. It stands on an altar of Jupiter.
"On voit au Capitole une statue d'Hercule très-jeune, en basalte, qui frappe assez désagréablement, d'abord, par le contraste, habilement exprimé toutefois, des formes molles de l'enfance et de la vigueur caractéristique du héros. L'imitation de la Grèce se montre même dans la matière que l'artiste a choisie; c'est un basalt verdâtre, de couleur sombre. Tisagoras et Alcon avaient fait un Hercule en fer, pour exprimer la force, et, comme dit Pline, pour signifier l'énergie persévérante de dieu."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. iii. 406.
5. Æsculapius (in nero-antico), on an altar, representing a sacrifice.
Among the statues and busts round the room the more important are:—
9. Marcus Aurelius.
14. A Satyr.
21. Hadrian, as Mars, from Ceprano.
24. Hercules, in gilt bronze, found in the Forum-Boarium (the columns on either side come from the tomb of Cecilia Metella).
"On cite de Myron trois Hercules, dont deux à Rome; l'un de ces derniers a probablement servi de modèle à l'Hercule en bronze doré du Capitole. Cette statue a été trouvée dans le marché aux Bœufs, non loin du grand cirque. L'Hercule de Myron était dans un temple élevé par Pompée et situé près du grand cirque; mais la statue du Capitole, dont le geste est maniéré, quel que soit son mérite, n'est pas assez parfaite qu'on puisse y reconnaître une œuvre de Myron. Peut-être Pompée n'avait placé dans son temple qu'une copie de l'un des deux Hercules de Myron et la donnait pour l'original; peut-être aussi Pline y a-t-il été trompé. La vanité que l'un montre dans tous les actes de sa vie et le peu de sentiment vrai que trahit si souvent la vaste composition de l'autre s'accordent également avec cette supposition et la rendent assez vraisemblable."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. iii. 273.
28. Hecuba.
"Nous avons le personnage même d'Hécube dans la Pleureuse du Capitole. Cette prétendué pleureuse est une Hécube furieuse et une Hécube en scène, car elle porte le costume, elle a le geste et la vivacité du théâtre, je dirais volontiers de la pantomime.... Son regard est tourné vers le ciel, sa bouche lance des imprécations; on voit qu'elle pourra faire entendre ces hurlements, ces aboiements de la douleur effrénée que l'antiquité voulut exprimer en supposant que la malheureuse Hécube avait été métamorphosée en chienne, une chienne à laquelle on a arraché ses petits."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. iii. 468.
31. Colossal bust of Antoninus Pius.
The Hall of the Faun derives its name from the famous Faun of rosso-antico, holding a bunch of grapes to his mouth, found in Hadrian's Villa. It stands on an altar dedicated to Serapis. Against the right wall is a magnificent sarcophagus, whose reliefs (much studied by Flaxman) represent the battle of Theseus and the Amazons. The opposite sarcophagus has a relief of Diana and Endymion. We should also notice—
15. A boy with a mask.
21. A boy with a goose (found near the Lateran).
Let into the wall is a black tablet—the Lex Regia, or Senatus-Consultum, conferring imperial powers upon Vespasian, being the very table upon which Rienzi declaimed in favour of the rights of the people.
The Hall of the Dying Gladiator contains the three gems of the collection—"the Gladiator," "the Antinous of the Capitol," and the "Faun of Praxiteles." Besides these, we should notice—2. Apollo with the lyre, and 9. a bust of M. Junius Brutus, the assassin of Julius Cæsar.
In the centre of the room is the grand statue of the wounded Gaul, generally known as the Dying Gladiator.
It is delightful to read in this room the description in Transformation:—
"It was that room in the centre of which reclines the noble and most pathetic figure of the dying gladiator, just sinking into his death-swoon. Around the walls stand the Antinous, the Amazon, the Lycian Apollo, the Juno; all famous productions of antique sculpture, and still shining in the undiminished majesty and beauty of their ideal life, although the marble that embodies them is yellow with time, and perhaps corroded by the damp earth in which they lay buried for centuries. Here, likewise, is seen a symbol (as apt at this moment as it was two thousand years ago) of the Human Soul, with its choice of Innocence or Evil close at hand, in the pretty figure of a child, clasping a dove to her bosom, but assaulted by a snake.
"From one of the windows of this saloon, we may see a broad flight of stone steps, descending alongside the antique and massive foundation of the Capitol, towards the battered triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, right below. Farther on, the eye skirts along the edge of the desolate Forum (where Roman washerwomen hang out their linen to the sun), passing over a shapeless confusion of modern edifices, piled rudely up with ancient brick and stone, and over the domes of Christian churches, built on the old pavements of heathen temples, and supported by the very pillars that once upheld them. At a distance beyond—yet but a little way, considering how much history is heaped into the intervening space—rises the great sweep of the Coliseum, with the blue sky brightening through its upper tier of arches. Far off, the view is shut in by the Alban mountains, looking just the same, amid all this decay and change, as when Romulus gazed thitherward over his half-finished wall.
"In this chamber is the Faun of Praxiteles. It is the marble image of a young man, leaning his right arm on the trunk or stump of a tree: one hand hangs carelessly by his side, in the other he holds a fragment of a pipe, or some such sylvan instrument of music. His only garment, a lion's skin with the claws upon the shoulder, falls half-way down his back, leaving his limbs and entire front of the figure nude. The form, thus displayed, is marvellously graceful, but has a fuller and more rounded outline, more flesh, and less of heroic muscle, than the old sculptors were wont to assign to their types of masculine beauty. The character of the face corresponds with the figure; it is most agreeable in outline and feature, but rounded and somewhat voluptuously developed, especially about the throat and chin; the nose is almost straight, but very slightly curves inward, thereby acquiring an indescribable charm of geniality and humour. The mouth, with its full yet delicate lips, seems so really to smile outright, that it calls forth a responsive smile. The whole statue—unlike anything else that ever was wrought in the severe material of marble—conveys the idea of an amiable and sensual creature, easy, mirthful, apt for jollity, yet not incapable of being touched by pathos. It is impossible to gaze long at this stone image, without conceiving a kindly sentiment towards it, as if its substance were warm to the touch, and imbued with actual life. It comes very near to some of our pleasantest sympathies."—Hawthorne.
"Praxitèle avait dit à Phryné de choisir entre ses ouvrages celui qu'elle aimerait le mieux. Pour savoir lequel de ses chefs-d'œuvre l'artiste préférait, elle lui fit annoncer que le feu avait pris à son atelier. 'Sauvez, s'écria-t-il, mon Satyre et mon Amour!'"—Ampère, Hist. Rom. iii. 309.
The west or right side of the Capitoline Piazza is occupied by the Palace of the Conservators, which contains the Protomoteca, the Picture Gallery, and various other treasures.
The little court at the entrance is full of historical relics, including remains of two gigantic statues of Apollo; a colossal head of Domitian; and the marble pedestal, which once in the mausoleum of Augustus supported the cinerary urn of Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, with a very perfect inscription. In the opposite loggia are a statue of Rome Triumphant, and a group of a lion attacking a horse, found in the bed of the Almo. In the portico on the right is the only authentic statue of Julius Cæsar; on the left, a statue of Augustus, leaning against the rostrum of a galley, in allusion to the battle of Actium.
The Protomoteca, a suite of eight rooms on the ground floor, contains a collection of busts of eminent Italians, with a few foreigners considered as naturalised by a long residence in Rome. Those in the second room, representing artists of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, were entirely executed at the expense of Canova.
At the foot of the staircase is a restoration by Michael Angelo of the column of Caius Duilius. On the upper flight of the staircase is a bas-relief of Curtius leaping into the gulf, here represented as a marsh.
"Un bas-relief d'un travail ancien, dont le style ressemble à celui des figures peintes sur les vases dits archaïques, représente Curtius engagé dans son marais; le cheval baisse la tête et flaire le marécage, qui est indiqué par des roseaux. Le guerrier penché en avant, presse sa monture. On a vivement, en présence de cette curieuse sculpture, le sentiment d'un incident héroïque probablement réel, et en même temps de l'aspect primitif du lieu qui en fut témoin."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. i. 321.
On the first and second landings are magnificent reliefs, representing events in the life of Marcus Aurelius, Imp., belonging to the arch dedicated to him, which was wantonly destroyed, in order to widen the Corso, by Alexander VII.
"Jusqu'au lègne de Commode Rome est représentée par une Amazone; dans l'escalier du palais des Conservateurs, Rome, en tunique courte d'Amazone et le globe à la main, reçoit Marc Aurèle; le globe dans la main de Rome date de César."—Ampère, iii. 242.
The Halls of the Conservators consist of eight rooms. The 1st, painted in fresco from the history of the Roman kings, by the Cavaliere d'Arpino, contains statues of Urban VIII., by Bernini; Leo X., by the Sicilian Giacomo della Duca;[41] and Innocent X., in bronze, by Algardi. The 2nd room, adorned with subjects from republican history by Lauretti, has statues of modern Roman generals—Marc Antonio Colonna, Tommaso Rospigliosi, Francesco Aldobrandini, Carlo Barberini, brother of Urban VIII., and Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma. The 3rd room, painted by Daniele di Volterra, with subjects from the wars with the Cimbri, contains the famous Bronze Wolf of the Capitol, one of the most interesting relics in the city. The figure of the wolf is of unknown antiquity; those of Romulus and Remus are modern. It has been doubted whether this is the wolf described by Dionysius as "an ancient work of brass" standing in the temple of Romulus under the Palatine, or the wolf described by Cicero, who speaks of a little gilt figure of the founder of the city sucking the teats of a wolf. The Ciceronian wolf was struck by lightning in the time of the great orator, and a fracture in the existing figure, attributed to lightning, is adduced in proof of its identity with it.
Standing near the wolf is the well-known and beautiful figure of a boy extracting a thorn from his foot, called the Shepherd Martius.
"La ressemblance du type si fin de l'Apollon au lézard et du charmant bronze du Capitole le tíreur d'épine est trop frappante pour qu'on puisse se refuser à voir dans celui-ci une inspiration de Praxitèle ou de son école. C'est tout simplement un enfant arrachant de son pied une épine qui l'a blessé, sujet naïf et champêtre analogue au Satyre se faisant rendre ce service par un autre Satyre. On a voulu y voir un athlète blessé par une épine pendant sa course et qui n'en est pas moins arrivé au but; mais la figure est trop jeune et n'a rien d'athlétique. Le moyen âge avait donné aussi son explication et inventé sa legende. On raccontait qu'un jeune berger, envoyé à la découverte de l'ennemi, était revenu sans s'arrêter et ne s'était permis qu'alors d'arracher une épine qui lui blessait le pied. Le moyen âge avait senti le charme de cette composition qu'il interprétait à sa manière, car elle est sculptée sur un arceau de la cathédrale de Zurich qui date du siècle de Charlemagne."—Ampère, iii. 315.
Forming part of the decorations of this room are two fine pictures, a dead Christ with a monk praying, and Sta. Francesca Romana, by Romanelli. Near the door of exit is a bust said to be that of Junius Brutus.
"Il est permis de voir dans le buste du Capitole un vrai portrait de Brutus; il est difficile d'en douter en le contemplant. Voilà bien le visage farouche, la barbe hirsute, les cheveux roides collés si rudement sur le front, la physiognomie inculte et terrible du prémier consul romain; la bouche serrée respire la détermination et l'énergie; les yeux, formés d'une matière jaunâtre, se détachent en clair sur le bronze noirci par les siècles et vous jettent un regard fixe et farouche. Tout près est la louve de bronze. Brutus est de la même famille. On sent qu'il y a du lait de cette louve dans les veines du second fondateur de Rome, comme dans les veines du premier, et que lui aussi, pareil au Romulus de la légende, marchera vers son but à travers le sang des siens.
"Le buste de Brutus est placé sur un piédestal qui le met à la hauteur du regard. Là, dans un coin sombre, j'ai passé bien des moments face à face avec l'impitoyable fondateur de la liberté romaine."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. ii. 270.
The 4th Room contains the Fasti Consulares, tables found near the temple of Minerva Chalcidica, and inscribed with the names of public officers from Romulus to Augustus. The 5th Room contains two bronze ducks (formerly shown as the sacred geese of the Capitol) and a female head—found in the gardens of Sallust, a bust of Medusa, by Bernini, and many others. The 6th, or Throne Room, hung with faded tapestry, has a frieze in fresco, by Annibale Caracci, representing the triumphs of Scipio Africanus. The 7th Room is painted by Daniele da Volterra(?) with the history of the Punic Wars. The 8th Room (now used as a passage) is a chapel, containing a lovely fresco, by Pinturicchio, of the Madonna and Child with Angels.
"The Madonna is seated enthroned, fronting the spectator; her large mantle forms a grand cast of drapery; the child on her lap sleeps in the loveliest attitude; she folds her hands and looks down, quiet, serious, and beautiful: in the clouds are two adoring angels."—Kugler.
The four Evangelists are by Caravaggio; the pictures of Roman saints (Cecilia, Alexis, Eustachio, Francesca-Romana), by Romanelli.
By the same staircase, passing on the left a wonderful relief of the apotheosis of the wicked Faustina, we may arrive at the Picture Gallery of the Capitol (which can also be approached by a separate staircase, entered from an alley at the back of the building), reached by two rooms inscribed with the names of the Roman Conservators from the middle of the sixteenth century. This gallery contains very few first-rate pictures, but has a beautiful St. Sebastian, by Guido, and several fine works of Guercino. The most noticeable pictures are—
1st Room.—
2. Disembodied Spirit (unfinished): Guido Reni.
13. St. John Baptist: Guercino.
16. Mary Magdalene: Guido Reni.
20. The Cumæan Sibyl: Domenichino.
26. Mary Magdalene: Tintoretto.
27. Presentation in the Temple: Fra. Bartolomeo.
30. Holy Family: Garofalo.
52. Madonna and Saints: Botticelli?
61. Portrait of himself: Guido Reni.
78. Madonna and Saints: F. Francia, 1513.
80. Portrait: Velasquez.
87. St. Augustine: Giovanni Bellini.
89. Romulus and Remus: Rubens.
2nd Room.—
100. Two male portraits: Vandyke.
104. Adoration of the Shepherds: Mazzolino.
106. Two Portraits: Vandyke.
116. St. Sebastian: Guido Reni.
117. Cleopatra and Augustus: Guercino.
119. St. Sebastian: Lud. Caracci.
128. Gipsy telling a fortune: Caravaggio.
132. Portrait: Giovanni Bellini.
134. Portrait of Michael Angelo: M. Venusti?
136. Petrarch: Gio. Bellini?
142. Nativity of the Virgin: Albani.
143. Sta. Petronilla: Guercino. An enormous picture, brought hither from St. Peter's, where it has been replaced by a mosaic copy. The composition is divided into two parts. The lower represents the burial of Sta. Petronilla, the upper the ascension of her spirit.
"The Apostle Peter had a daughter, born in lawful wedlock, who accompanied him in his journey from the East. Petronilla was wonderfully fair; and Valerius Flaccus, a young and noble Roman, who was a heathen, became enamoured of her beauty, and sought her for his wife; and he, being very powerful, she feared to refuse him; she therefore desired him to return in three days, and promised that he should then carry her home. But she prayed earnestly to be delivered from this peril; and when Flaccus returned in three days, with great pomp, to celebrate the marriage, he found her dead. The company of nobles who attended him, carried her to the grave, in which they laid her, crowned with roses; and Flaccus lamented greatly."—Mrs. Jameson, from the Perfetto Legendario.
199. Death and Assumption of the Virgin: Cola della Matrice.
"Here the death of the Virgin is treated at once in a mystical and dramatic style. Enveloped in a dark blue mantle, spangled with golden stars, she lies extended on a couch; St. Peter, in a splendid scarlet cope as bishop, reads the service; St. John, holding the palm, weeps bitterly. In front, and kneeling before the couch or bier, appear the three great Dominican saints as witnesses of the religious mystery; in the centre St. Dominic; on the left, St. Catherine of Siena; and on the right, St. Thomas Aquinas. In a compartment above is the Assumption."—Jameson's Legends of the Madonna, p. 315.
123. Virgin and Angels: Paul Veronese.
124. Rape of Europa: Paul Veronese.
At the head of the Capitol steps, to the right of the terrace, is the entrance to the Palazzo Caffarelli, the residence of the Prussian minister. It has a small but beautiful garden, and the view from the windows is magnificent.