Once created for Italian nobility, the seven gilded armchairs in the Titian Room now reign as some of the most remarkable pieces of furniture in the Gardner’s collection. Learn how these chairs made their way from a Roman palace to Boston’s very own Italian palazzo.
With high ceilings, rich floral wall coverings, and masterful oil paintings by the likes of Titian, Giovanni Bellini, and Diego Velázquez, the Titian Room evokes visions of grandeur and luxury in all who visit. Centering this entire lavish display is “one of the most ornate examples of trompe l'œil giltwood carving in existence”—a collection of six gilded Italian poltrone, or armchairs.1 An additional golden seat is tucked neatly underneath The Rape of Europa, in a “position of honor,”2 completing Isabella Stewart Gardner’s set of seven. Isabella loved an illustrious provenance, and these chairs that once belonged to one of Renaissance Italy’s most powerful families—the Borgheses—were no exception.
Photo: Sean Dungan
Titian Room, 2022. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
The first account of the Borghese family comes from Sienna, Italy in 1238.3 It was during this century that their status in society rose, due to a number of members holding public offices. In the 16th century, the head of the family, Marcantonio Borghese (1504—1574), relocated to Rome, where his son Camillo (1550–1621) was elected Pope Paul V in 1605. The Borghese family enjoyed the luxuries of nobility in Rome without a formal title, until 1610 when King Phillip III of Spain (1578–1621), also the king of Naples, named Pope Paul V’s nephew Marcantonio II (1598–1658) Prince of Sulmona. It is an honorific still used by the Borghese descendents over four hundred years later.
J. Paul Getty Museum (2015.22)
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1589–1680), Bust of Pope Paul V [Camillo Borghese], 1621. Marble, height: 78 cm (30 11/16 in.)
Before claiming the title of His Holiness, Camillo purchased property along the River Tiber. Once he ascended into the office of the Pope, he gave the property to his brothers, who would spend the following years building the Palazzo Borghese. Pope Paul V’s maternal nephew, Cardinal Sciopione Borghese (1577–1633) was a passionate art collector and bolstered the Borghese Collection at the Palazzo during the 17th century, transforming it into a necessary stop for wealthy individuals in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s time and today
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Edward Pearce Casey Fund, 1983 (1983.1027(2))
Antonio Tempesta (Italian, 1555–1630), Plan of the City of Rome. Part 2 with the Trinità dei Monti, Palazzo Borghese and the Baths of Diocletian, 1645. Etching with some engraving; undescribed state, 53.8 x 40.2 cm (21 3/16 x 15 13/16 in.). The Palazzo Borghese is a curved building that can be found in the lower portion of the image.
In the late 18th century, hoping to maintain his family’s favorable reputation, Marcantonio IV, 5th Prince of Sulmona, (1730–1800) undertook an ambitious renovation project of the Palazzo Borghese, which had been constructed almost 200 years prior. The prince hired architect Antonio Asprucci (1723–1808) and charged him to remodel the Galleria Terrena, or ground floor of the palace, with new decorations, architectural elements, and furniture.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, Anne Stern Gift, 1983 (1983.1056)
Antonio Asprucci (Italian, 1723–1808), Design for Four Decorated Tables, 1723-1808. Graphite with brush and brown wash, 38.9 x 24 cm (15 5/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
Among those recruited by Asprucci to assist in creating the new furniture for the Palazzo was Antonio Landucci (d. 1782), a prominent artisan and carver. Landucci, likely with the help of his wife Lucia Barbarossa (c. 1728 – died after 1782), worked on a number of commissions from Marcantonio IV between 1773 and 1782, including thirty-seven chairs.4 It is likely during this time that the armchairs Isabella purchased were created.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (F26e9.3). See it in the Titian Room
Attributed to Antonio Landucci (Italian, active 1770–1783), Armchair (Poltrona), about 1773. Gilded and painted walnut, cane, 108 x 67.5 x 50 cm (42 1/2 x 26 9/16 x 19 11/16 in.)
A hundred years later, the Italian economy was becoming increasingly unstable due to what would become known as the Banca Romana scandal in 1893. The financial uncertainty of the early 1890s sent noble families scrambling to liquidate their more luxurious assets in order to maintain their wealth. The Borgheses were no exception.
From 28 March to 9 April in 1892, the Roman art dealers Giacomini and Capobianchi hosted an auction at the Palazzo Borghese at the request of Paolo Borghese, IX Prince of Sulmona, (1845–1920). Listed on the catalog for the auction were thirteen gilded armchairs (lots 368–373).
Dated in the catalog to the time of Louis XV (1710—1774), the odd number of thirteen chairs was split between six consecutive lots. The chairs were likely meant to be decorative rather than functional, which would explain the unusual number in the set. The unadorned backs indicate that they were designed to be placed against a wall, rather than set at a table.
On 2 April 1982, Robert Thompson Crawshay (1853–1944), whose father and namesake was a British ironmaster, purchased the first six chairs (lots 368–370). The remaining seven chairs (lots 371–373) were purchased by the American painter and art collector Ralph Wormley Curtis (1854–1922), on the behalf of Isabella, for 7350 francs.
Prior to making their trip across the Atlantic, the Borghese armchairs were sent to Venice, where Antonio Carrer (active 1877–1912), art dealer and restorer, inspected and treated the chairs, removing the aging upholstery. Arriving in Boston a number of years in advance of the Museum’s completion, the chairs were arranged by Isabella in the Music Room of her 152 Beacon Street home.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (ARC.010186)
Thomas E. Marr (Canadian-American, 1849–1910), Music Room, 152 Beacon Street, Boston, 1900. Gelatin silver print. Five of the chairs can be seen on the right side of the image.
Five years after Isabella purchased the armchairs, Robert Thompson Crawshay, the owner of the other half of the Borghese set, reached out to Ralph Wormley Curtis, inquiring about the chairs. In a letter, Crawshay, who himself owned a home in Rome, asserted that the only environment suitable for the golden poltrone to be displayed in was an authentic Italian Palazzo. He claimed anything less would not be suitable and expressed interest in acquiring Isabella’s seven chairs to reunite the set.
Perhaps when you see Mrs J.G. and tell her that unless she has a real Italian Palazzo room for the chairs they wont [sic] do, she may relent for it really is a pity to cut them up -
— Robert Thompson Crawshay to Ralph Wormley Curtis, 4 May 1897 (ARC.001079)
In a spectacular—and serendipitous—response to Crawshay’s proclamations of appropriate spaces to house the chairs, Isabella did indeed create an Italian Palazzo room fit for the furniture of royalty. She would continue to rearrange the positioning of the armchairs from the time of the Museum’s inauguration in 1903 to her death in 1924, ensuring they became a centerpiece of the Titian Room.
Titian Room, 1903
There was no word about the six chairs in Crawshay’s collection for over 30 years after his correspondence to Curtis, until 1933 when a letter arrived at the Museum from Galleria Sangiorgi in Rome addressed to John Davis Hatch, Jr. (1907–1996), the Assistant Director of the Museum. The gallery had acquired Crawshay’s six Borghese armchairs and was prepared to offer them to the Museum, in the interest of completing the set, for 90,000 lire. A photograph of one of the armchairs was included with the letter.
Hatch promptly refused the offer, citing the stipulations in Isabella’s will that prohibited any new acquisitions, and asked to be kept updated on the fate of the chairs. Galleria Sangiorgi acknowledged the refusal of the armchairs and assured Hatch that they would keep him apprised of their status.
No further correspondence followed from Galleria Sangiorgi, and the current whereabouts of the six Borghese armchairs from Crawshay’s collection are unknown. Fortunately, Isabella’s seven intricately decorated poltrone are golden reminders of what was once the grand set of thirteen created for a prince.