Exhibitions

Towards the exhibition “Metamorphoses. Ovid and the Arts”

While the exhibition “Metamorphoses” is currently on view at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the dialogue with Ovid continues and is preparing to reach Rome. From June 2026, the Galleria Borghese will host “Metamorphoses. Ovid and the Arts”, featuring over 80 extraordinary masterpieces on loan from international institutions, bringing to life the imaginative power of Ovid’s poem. Francesca Cappelletti, Director of the Galleria Borghese and co-curator of the exhibition together with Frits Scholten, reflects in this video alongside scholar Claudio Sagliocco on the enduring presence of the “Metamorphoses”in the museum’s works. In Room XIX is preserved the painting by Domenichino, known as “The hunting of Diana”. A title that tells only part of the story. The painting reveals itself as a true celebration of athletic competition: nymphs grappling in combat, others engaged in running, some supporting a quarry. Not merely a hunting scene, but a complex narrative construction. The true enchantment of the work, however, lies in its reaching out toward the viewer. Domenichino breaks the boundary between canvas and reality: in the foreground, a nymph fixes the spectator with an intense gaze, ignoring the calls of her companions. At the same time, on the right, two young boys spy on the scene, hidden among the shrubs. They are the nympholeptoi—the “seized by nymphs”—captives of a divine vision they are not meant to behold. One of them addresses us with an unmistakable gesture: an invitation to silence. We have been drawn into the painting’s sacred space, becoming accomplices to a forbidden gaze. But beware: as taught by the tragic fate of Actaeon, recounted by Ovid, an inadvertent encounter with the divine can be fatal. The painting invites us to look, but with the awareness of one who treads ground that is as fascinating as it is dangerous.