Newsletters
Italy has acquired a rare portrait by renowned Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio for €30 million, the country’s Culture Ministry announced on Tuesday, describing the purchase as one of the most significant state investments in art.
The painting, titled Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini, was purchased from a private collection after more than a year of negotiations. According to Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli, the acquisition forms part of a broader effort to strengthen the nation’s cultural heritage.
The artwork will be placed in the National Galleries of Ancient Art and displayed at Palazzo Barberini in Rome, allowing the public and scholars to view one of the rarest portraits attributed to Caravaggio.
The painting depicts Maffeo Barberini, who later became Pope Urban VIII. Caravaggio is believed to have painted the portrait around 1598, when Barberini was in his early thirties, decades before he was elected pope in 1623.
In the portrait, Barberini is shown seated in clerical robes, holding a folded letter in one hand while gesturing toward the viewer.
The work highlights Caravaggio’s distinctive use of dramatic light and shadow, a technique known as chiaroscuro.
The painting is considered particularly significant because only about 65 works worldwide are securely attributed to Caravaggio, and confirmed portraits by the artist are extremely rare.
The portrait had remained in private hands for decades and was only recently displayed publicly during a Caravaggio exhibition at Palazzo Barberini between November 2024 and February 2025.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
