AH, THE BORGIA FAMILY
A short list of exhibitions to see confirmed that Marielle would like to go to « Les Borgia et Leur Temps » I was glad about that as it’s a period she knows well and armed with her notes from a Summer conference at the Sorbonne, off we went. First in line for the opening and the crowds weren’t there for the moment.
This is the first exhibition I think I have been to when it was indispensable to read the comments on each period. In our imagination the Borgias represent the incarnation of the most abominable vices. An expression of the Renaissance period excesses? There is no doubt that the family influenced the second half of the 15th century in Italy and in Europe. During that period, the world was transformed by the discovery of America, the invention of printing, the Reformation started by Luther and the development of an unprecedented artistic scene. What I like though is that amid all the internecine slaughter and incestuous sex, the Borgias occasionally took time out to commi