The Galleria Borghese, in collaboration with the Louvre Museum, presents the exhibition I Borghese e l'Antico with the most representative masterpieces of the collection begun by Scipione Borghese, which are now part of the Cabinet of Antiquities at the Louvre. This is the first time in 200 years that these pieces – a total of 60 works which include the Borghese Vase, the Hermaphrodite restored by Bernini, the Three Graces or Love riding on Centaur – left the Paris museum.

The purchase goes back to 1807, when Camillo Borghese – husband of Pauline Bonaparte – agreed to sell 695 pieces – including sculptures, vases and reliefs – by order of Napoleon's brother. The goal was none other than to provide new material for the Napoleon Museum and to contribute to young artists training through the study of ancient models, but also, to consolidate a taste that would contribute to secure the identity of the emperor and his new order as heirs of the classical world.

The formation of the Borghese collection in turn has its origins in two purchases: the first, in 1607, to Lelio Ceoli: and the second, in 1609, the cabinet of antiquities formed by Giovanni Battista Della Porta. Even in the late eighteenth century, when the Villa Borghese was renovated entirely by Prince Marcantonio Borghese, the sculptures were the main element in the decoration of the palace, however, the advent of Napoleon altered their destiny.

The pieces arrived in Paris in an overland expedition in two well documented phases (evidence of which are now in the National Archives in Paris and in the Library of Besançon). I Borghese e l'Antico is a chance to go back in time to admire this array in its historical location, the place in which they acquired their fame that became a paradigm for the interpretation of classical art for at least two centuries. Until April 9th, 2012 at the Galleria Borghese. Alejandro Martinez

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