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by Dr. Stephen Pepper and Dr. Erich Schleier.12 The sitter was initially misidentified by Pepper as Cardinal
Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Paul. This error, which was noted by several scholars,13 temporarily opened
the door to some unjustified doubts regarding the attribution;14 and it of course also led to a mistake in dating15.

I n considering this portrait one is immediately struck by the power of the work. Camillo completely fills
the picture space with his bulk thus forcibly impressing a powerful image upon the viewer’s mind. The
light falling upon the sitter’s face emphasizes his features in an undramatic but nevertheless effective
manner (Fig. 4). Standing behind a table and in front of a chair that has as a finial, the Borghese dragon, his
mien is almost glowering while in the act of ringing a small bell (Fig. 5), which involves no great exer­tion,
but instead conveys the idea of command which is supported by his steady outward gaze (Fig. 4). The drapery
falling by Camillo’s side also serves to reinforce a sense of firmness, as does the unobtrusive highlighting,
the dominant, standing posture, his severe, almost haughty expression, and slightly pursed, carmine lips.
This image is very carefully contrived to convey, above all, monumentality through a hieratic image, which,
however, does not exclude the sense of a distinct personality.
It has been remarked that the composition is somewhat ‘old fashioned’.16 This is only partly true but to the extent
that this is so, it can be explained by the fact that Reni was working within the accepted formulae of Roman

12 London, The Matthiesen Gallery, Around 1610: the Onset of the Baroque, 1985, no.1.
13 For example, N. Turner, review of the exhibition ‘Around 1610: the Onset of the Baroque’, in The Burlington Magazine,

August, 1985, p. 548.
14 Nicholas Turner, Dott. Danieli Benati, Prof. Sydney Freedberg, Prof. Andrea Emiliani and Prof. Federico Zeri all concurred

with a firm attribution to Reni by 1993, followed by Erich Schleier, Catherine Johnston and Lorenzo Pericolo.
15 A comparison with the Bernini bust recently acquired by The Getty Museum (see n. 28 below) places the identification beyond

any doubt.
16 Turner 1985, loc.cit.

Fig. 4.Guido Reni, Camillo Borghese, London, The Matthiesen Gallery, (detail).

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