Italy buys rare Caravaggio portrait of nobleman who became a pope

A visitor looks at the private collection and never previously shown to the public painting 'Portrait de Maffeo Barberini' by Italian master Caravaggio at the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in the Barberini palace in Rome on November 22, 2024. The Italian state has spent €30 million ($58.7m) to acquire a rare portrait by the painter Caravaggio. Photo / Alberto Pizzoli, AFP

Italy has paid €30 million ($58.7m) for a Caravaggio painting of the future pope Urban VIII, the Culture Ministry said today, a work that will enter the Barberini museum collection in Rome.

The portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini was painted by Italian master Caravaggio when the nobleman born in 1568 was in his 30s, years before he became pope.

“This is a work of exceptional importance,” Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said in a statement, adding that it was “one of the most significant investments” ever made by the state for an artwork.

Maffeo Barberini was elected to the papacy in 1623 and his pontificate lasted until his death in 1644.

The painting was authenticated in 1963 by the art critic Roberto Longhi, a great specialist in the work of the 16th-century artist, whose full name was Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

“This acquisition, together with the recent purchase of the Ecce Homo by Antonello da Messina, is part of a broader project to strengthen the national cultural heritage.”

The previous owners of the work, who were not specified, had allowed the portrait to be exhibited to the public for an exhibit on Caravaggio at Palazzo Barberini - the noble family’s historic home in central Rome - which ended in February 2025.

The museum’s director, Thomas Clement Salomon, told AFP at the exhibition’s opening in November 2024 that the fact it was being displayed was “exceptional”.

“It has never been lent to an exhibition, it has never been seen in a museum, so it is an absolute preview,” he said.

In the painting, a seated Barberini is clutching a letter in his left hand, with his right pointing forward, towards the viewer.

Around 65 paintings in the world have been “securely attributed” to Caravaggio, according to the ministry statement, while portraits are very rare, with only three “known and firmly accepted”.

-Agence France-Presse