Rubens and Sculpture: Major Exhibition at Galleria Borghese

Galleria Borghese in Rome presents 'Il tocco di Pigmalione. Rubens e la scultura a Roma' (The Touch of Pygmalion: Rubens and Sculpture in Rome), a major exhibition exploring Peter Paul Rubens' dialogue with ancient and Renaissance sculpture. Curated by Francesca Cappelletti and Lucia Simonato, the show brings together about 50 works—including drawings, paintings, and sketches—from leading international museums such as the British Museum, the Louvre, the Met, the Morgan Library, the National Gallery of London, the National Gallery of Washington, the Prado, and the Rijksmuseum. The exhibition is part of the broader project 'RUBENS! La nascita di una pittura europea', organized by Galleria Borghese in collaboration with Palazzo Te and Palazzo Ducale di Mantua, focusing on cultural exchanges between Italy and Europe in the 16th century through Rubens' eyes. The display unfolds across two floors of the museum in eight sections, tracing Rubens' reinterpretation of classical models and his role in developing a new visual grammar that influenced Baroque art. Cappelletti emphasizes the close relationship between painting and sculpture, while Simonato highlights how Rubens' new bodily grammar impacted modern sculpture.