| Portrait of Maffeo Barberini | |
|---|---|
| Ritratto di Maffeo Barberini (Italian) | |
 | |
| Artist | Caravaggio |
| Year | c. 1598 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 124 cm × 90 cm (49 in × 35 in) |
| Location | |
The Portrait of Maffeo Barberini is a painting of c. 1598 by the Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
Barberini, 30 years old and from the eminent Florentine Barberini family, was a rapidly rising Church prelate, a friend of Caravaggio's patron Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, and himself a poet and patron of the arts. Barberini's support continued – in 1603 he commissioned a Sacrifice of Isaac from Caravaggio. In 1623 he became Pope as Urban VIII.
First cataloged in 1963 by Roberto Longhi, one of Italy's foremost 20th-century art historians, the portrait had been in a private collection for decades, largely inaccessible to scholars, and had not been featured in any of the major Caravaggio exhibitions.[1] In November 2024, it went on display at the Palazzo Barberini in Rome.[2] In March 2026, after a year of negotiations with its Florentine owners, it was purchased by the Italian state for €30 million; this is said to be one of the largest sums ever paid by the state for a single artwork. The painting is now part of the permanent collection of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica at Palazzo Barberini.[3]
See also
References
- "Caravaggio Painting, Unseen for Decades, Goes on Display". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- "Blockbuster Caravaggio Exhibition in Rome Unveils Lost Masterpiece". artmajeur.com. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
- Imam, James (11 March 2026). "Caravaggio portrait of influential patron—and future Pope Urban VIII—purchased by Italy for €30m". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- Creighton Gilbert. Caravaggio and His Two Cardinals. Penn State Press, 1995. ISBN 0271013125
External links
Media related to Portrait of Maffeo Barberini by Caravaggio at Wikimedia Commons
