Dosso Dossi's Aeneas Frieze Shown for First Time at Galleria Borghese

The Galleria Borghese in Rome presents 'Dosso Dossi. Il fregio di Enea,' the first exhibition to reunite all known canvases from the artist's cycle based on Virgil's 'Aeneid.' Painted between 1518 and 1520 for Alfonso I d'Este's Camerino d'alabastro in Ferrara, the ten works originally hung above Titian's 'Bacchanals' and near Giovanni Bellini's 'Feast of the Gods.' After Ferrara passed to the Papal States, Scipione Borghese brought the canvases to Rome in 1608. In the 19th century, they were acquired by Prado director José de Madrazo. By 1998, only three were known; four more resurfaced in the following two decades, including two discovered in New York in 2000 (now owned by the Louvre Abu Dhabi) and one found by Vittorio Sgarbi in a private collection in 2014. Curated by Marina Minozzi, the exhibition runs until June 11, 2023, and was organized with the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and the Museo del Prado in Madrid. It also features other Dossi works from the Galleria's collection, including 'Melissa' and 'Apollo and Dafne,' alongside Albani's tondi of Venus and Diana. Scholar Peter Humfrey notes that Dossi's landscapes prioritize atmosphere and variety over narrative, with costumes ranging from ancient to modern to exotic. The underworld scene discovered by Sgarbi shows Bosch's influence, with dark, chimeric figures.