''La Zingarella'' or ''Gypsy Girl'' is a tall statue of
Diana,
a combination of an ancient body with additions commissioned by Cardinal
Scipione Borghese
Scipione Borghese (; 1 September 1577 – 2 October 1633) was an Italian Cardinal, art collector and patron of the arts. A member of the Borghese family, he was the patron of the painter Caravaggio and the artist Bernini. His legacy is the estab ...
and executed by
Nicolas Cordier, between 1607 and 1612. The additions, a head and the extremities of the body, were in
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
, and white and grey marble. It is on display in Room X in the
Galleria Borghese
The Galleria Borghese () is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. At the outset, the gallery building was integrated with its gardens, but nowadays the Villa Borghese gardens are considered a separate tourist ...
in Rome, Italy.
Description
This statue is a hybrid of an ancient grey
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
torso, and Cordier's white marble and gilded bronze. Recent restoration, which removed a thick black patina added to tone down the statue to suit 19th-century taste, revealed a gold clasp.
Its assembly from ancient and modern elements makes it an exotic, almost
orient
The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
alizing work.
Eagles and dragons decorate the hem of the statue's gown.
The gown is knotted at the shoulders.
The figure is smiling.
The statue's finger points out, as if to acknowledge the viewer. The statue in the Galleria Borghese is the most celebrated version of La Zingarella; however, there is another version of the statue by Nicolas Cordier in the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
.
Visconti described the statue as ''Diana, detto volgarmente la Zingarella.''
See also
*
Zinger
References
{{Reflist
External links
La Zingarella 1600s sculptures
1610s sculptures
Renaissance sculptures
Sculptures in the Borghese Collection
Sculptures of the Louvre by French artists