A previously unseen Caravaggio portrait was unveiled in Rome on Friday at Palazzo Barberini, where it will be displayed until 23 February. The portrait, depicting Monsignor Maffeo Barberini, is the centrepiece of the exhibition Caravaggio: The Portrait Unveiled.
The painting comes from a private collection where it has remained since the 1960s.
“It is the Caravaggio painting everyone has wanted to see for years,” said Thomas Clement Salomon, director of the National Galleries of Ancient Art and co-curator of the exhibition alongside Paola Nicita. “It has never been exhibited, lent, or included in exhibitions before.”
Massimo Osanna, general director of Museums at the Culture Ministry, described the event as “epochal.” He added, “Maffeo Barberini is coming home. Only Salomon could have achieved this.”
Nicita emphasised the work is not a rediscovery but has been known since the 1960s. However, it had only been seen by a handful of specialists. “Caravaggio’s portraits are incredibly rare,” she said. “Some have been lost, and others remain untraced.”
The portrait shows Maffeo Barberini in his thirties, wearing a green biretta and cassock over a pleated white robe. In the foreground, a roll of documents rests against the armchair, while the contrasts of light and shadow and diagonal composition reflect Caravaggio’s hallmark style.
Looking to resolve questions about painting’s provenance
The exhibition also aims to resolve questions about the painting’s dating and provenance. Giuliano Briganti first attributed the work to Caravaggio, and art historian Roberto Longhi formally presented it as such in 1963. Longhi suggested the portrait had been part of the Barberini collection for centuries before entering a private Italian collection.
Nicita dated the painting to between 1598, when Barberini was appointed cleric of the pope’s chamber, and 1603, when he left for Paris as ambassador to France.
When asked about the possibility of keeping the portrait permanently at Palazzo Barberini, Salomon said, “It would be a dream.” Osanna added, “Sometimes dreams come true. We are working to ensure it can be enjoyed by as many people as possible.”
