Caravaggio. The portrait unveiled

23 November 2024 - 23 February 2025

The Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica host an extraordinary event from November 23, 2024 to February 23, 2025 curated by Thomas Clement Salomon and Paola Nicita: the Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini, a painting by Caravaggio from a private collection that has never previously been on display to the public, will be exhibited in the Sala Paesaggi of Palazzo Barberini. This is a historical loan of the utmost value.

The work, first presented by Roberto Longhi in his article Il vero ‘Maffeo Barberini’ di Caravaggio published in 1963 in the journal Paragone, was referred to by this leading scholar as a fundamental key to understanding Caravaggio’s portrait painting.

According to Longhi, the painting, which reappeared in Rome without any accompanying documentation, had been kept for centuries in the Barberini family collection before ending up in a private collection, probably when the estate was dispersed in the 1930s. Leading scholars of Caravaggio and 17th century painting all agree the work is his.

This exceptional loan offers a unique opportunity for the public and experts to admire a work that has never previously been exhibited and is still part of the private collection it has belonged to for decades. The exhibition will also provide the chance to study the work in greater scientific-critical depth.