Gabine Diana
Unknown
This work is a cast-iron copy of a Roman statue (today in the Louvre) found in the excavations at Gabii in 1792.
The marble original of the statue was executed by Praxiteles in 346-45 BC for the temple of Artemis Brauronia on the Acropolis in Athens, and shows the goddess putting on her clothes.
This typology was immensely popular in the nineteenth century and many copies were made.
During recent restoration of the statue traces of gilding were found.
Masterpieces of the hall
The hall
The Italian Artists and Poets Room is named after the 32 portraits painted by Pietro Paoletti within a Gothic-style painted architectural structure that was once enhanced with views and coloured window glass.
The portraits are painted in standard generic Neo-Renaissance style. In the company of such famous figures as Dante, Petrarch, Leonardo and Michelangelo is the portrait of Carlo Torlonia, who was added in place of Giorgio Vasari.
