Unretrato nunca expuesto de Caravaggio presented in Rome

At the Prado del Museo, you can leave it Ecce Homo de Caravaggio Discovered in 2021, declared bien inexportable y de interes culture (BIC) and bought by an English collector for 35 million, it is now displayed by the National Gallery of Ancient Art in Rome. Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini, la ultima attribution al maestro del barroco.

From this Saturday until next February 23, this portrait shows Maffeo Barberini sitting in a wooden chair, his body turned slightly to the left. You present publicly en romano Palacio Barberini. This is a historic loan from a private collection.

Thomas Clement Salomon, director of the Galleria Nazionali di Arte Antica, noted that “This is the Caravaggio picture that the whole world wants to see. It seemed impossible. We are deeply proud that the National Gallery of Ancient Art has achieved this ambitious goal: for the first time, this masterpiece can be admired by everyone in the Barberini Palace.

Most la pintura, un rayo de luz al retrado illuminates intensely en una sala muy desnuda y sobria. El monseñor, de unos treinta años, lleva una gorra y una sotana sin mangas en tonos verdes sobre una tunica blanca pleasada. His left arm rests on the arm of a chair and he holds a folded paper in his hand, while in the foreground documents propped up on the chair illuminate the roll. Un maravilloso ejemplo de la utilizado de la luz por parte del maestro del claroscuro.

An impatient expression and an open mouth appear on his face. This, combined with the somewhat rude gesture he made by cutting the ground with his right hand, leads experts to believe that un personaje importante que está to command a alguien fuera de cuadro

The delicate chromatic experiment, the diagonal arrangement of the figure against the background, the contrasts between light and dark, the shape of the rounded hands, the brightness of the skin and the lead brush painting of the eyes adder intensidad a la mirada del sujeto, son Caravaggio is distinguished by its setas the critic points out.

John unas pocas pinceladas, Caravaggio pinta un retrato en movimiento y revela el estado ánimo y la personality del sujetoun intellectual de los más altos círculos sociales, monumental en su presencia.

Antecedents of attribution

It was reported based on experts Roberto Longhi in his article “Maffeo Barberini” by Caravaggioedition of la revista Paragon en 1963. Se presiente entonces como Caravaggio can be understood as como retratista.

According to Longhi, the work appeared in Rome without any document to accompany it, perteneció in the collection of the Barberini family for centuries antes de acabar en una colección privada, apparently his legacy was scattered over thirty years.

A recent publication (2021) of correspondence between Roberto Longhi and the art historian Giuliano Briganti revealed that The discovery of the portrait and its attribution to Caravaggio was first made by Brigantiqueen cedio a Longhi el derecho and publicarlo. In a letter dated July 2, 1963, the latter confirmed what had happened and offered Briganti the opportunity to publish the work.

Longhi – explicane from the Palacio Barberini – published on the work in September 1963 praising the restoration work of Alfredo De Sanctis. Federico Zeri (Historian who forms part of the Muse del Prado Scientific Council) He also recognized the attribution to Caravaggio. In the Fototeca de la Universidad de Bologna, a photograph of a painting from the Caravaggio archive is signed Zeri on the back, indicating that it came from the expert Sestieri, a Roman merchant and former curator of the Barberini Gallery.

Since its reappearance in 1963, the work has been unanimously recognized by critics for its distinctive stylistic features and the exceptional quality of the portrait, as explained now from the National Gallery of Ancient Art. Mia Cinotti, author of one of the most complete monographs on Caravaggio since 1983, It was already included in the artist's catalog después de que el owner permitiera examiner la obra en profundidad.

This exceptional loan is a unique opportunity to admire a work that has never been shown to the public and has always been part of a private collection. “This exhibition is an unprecedented eventde for extraordinary interests los estudiosos y expertos como el public”, aseguran desde la Institución.