New Wing

Look up at the repeated square recesses in the ceiling and the skylights above this long gallery. Below them, large statues occupy niches, while busts and coloured marble fill the space between. The New Wing was designed to give ancient sculpture a carefully composed architectural setting. Pope Pius VII commissioned it after works taken to France under Napoleon began to return. Architect Raffaele Stern started the project, and Pasquale Belli continued it after Stern’s death. The gallery opened in 1822. Ancient Roman mosaics and reused marble became part of its new floor and decoration. Augustus from Prima Porta presents an emperor in armour, raising his arm as if addressing troops. The reclining Nile offers a different kind of authority, turning a river into a human figure surrounded by smaller figures and animals. The original bronze peacocks once associated with the pinecone fountain are also conserved here. Their fine plumage and the larger marble bodies repay quite different kinds of attention.