This extraordinary painting on the right, first published by Roberto Longhi in 1963, is one of the few surviving portraits by Caravaggio. The sitter is Maffeo Barberini, an important prelate of the Roman curia who became pope as Urban VIlI in 1623. In his lefthand, he clutches a piece of parchment which probably bears the decree appointing him Cleric of the Apostolic Chamberin 1597 while his right arm points to something beyond the canvas, invades the space of the viewer and brings us into a direct relationship with the personality of the sitter.
This painting, on public display for the very first time, represents a benchmark for all seventeenth century portraiture and one ofthefinest examples of this genre.
The painting on the left, whose attribution to Caravaggio has always been debated by scholars, is also a portrait of Maffeo Barberini. What we know for certain is that Maffeo, who had an avid interest in all manner of arts and culture, commissioned Caravaggio to do another painting between 1603 and 1604, generally recognised by critics as the stunning Sacrifice of Isaac from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
🎨 Left: Michelangelo Merisi called Caravaggio, attributed, Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini as Protonotary Apostolic, c. 1595. Private collection, Firenze.
🎨 Right: Michelangelo Merisi called Caravaggio, Portrait of Maffeo Barberini, c. 1598-1599. Private collection.
The Arts of Golden Age Spain and the Hispanic World 