Overview
- Italy’s Culture Ministry completed the purchase after more than a year of talks with unnamed private owners in Florence.
- The painting portrays Maffeo Barberini—later Pope Urban VIII—was painted around 1598 and was attributed to Caravaggio by Roberto Longhi in 1963.
- The work enters Rome’s Palazzo Barberini permanent collection, where it will be accessible to the public and scholars and is slated for conservation.
- Officials call the €30 million outlay one of the state’s largest for a single artwork, following last month’s acquisition of an Antonello da Messina painting.
- The ministry notes Caravaggio’s securely attributed works are few and accepted portraits are rarer still, underscoring the significance of bringing this canvas into a national museum.