Italy has purchased a rare Caravaggio portrait for €30 million ($34.7 million), one of the largest sums ever paid by the state for a work of art, according to the country’s culture ministry.
The painting, depicting the cleric Monsignor Maffeo Barberini—who would later ascend as Pope Urban VIII—was described as being of “exceptional importance,” Alessandro Giuli, Italy’s culture minister, said in a statement.
The portrait had been kept in a private collection in Florence and was first shown publicly in 2004 in Rome. Following its purchase by the Italian state, it was transferred to the permanent collection of the Palazzo Barberini, the historic residence of the Barberini family, where it will be exhibited alongside other works by Caravaggio.
The master Baroque artist painted Barberini around 1598. The composition anticipates his eventual rise to power: draped in a resplendent green cleric’s cloak, his right hand is outstretched, casually issuing orders to an unseen figure outside the frame. He was elected pope in 1623 and served until he died in 1644, leaving a legacy of rich art patronage.
Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said that the purchase was part of a broader effort to prevent artworks of national importance from disappearing into private collections. The ministry of culture, he continued, will “continue to pursue” similar acquisitions in the coming months, “with the aim of making some art history masterpieces accessible to scholars and enthusiasts that would otherwise be destined for the private market”.
“I would like to thank all the institutions, officials, and technicians who have worked with great skill and dedication to achieve such an important result,” he added.
