Bernini e i Barberini (Bernini and the Barberini)

The National Galleries of Ancient Art present in the rooms of Palazzo Barberini the major exhibition Bernini e i Barberini (Bernini and the Barberini), curated by Andrea Bacchi and Maurizia Cicconi, which highlights the extraordinary relationship between Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Maffeo Barberini, his first and most important patron, elected pontiff in 1623 under the name of Urbano VIII.

The exhibition offers an opportunity to reflect on the birth and development of the Baroque through the artistic, political, and personal dialogue that developed between Bernini and Pope Urbano VIII, key figures in the affirmation of the Baroque language. The exhibition also opens to coincide with the four-hundredth anniversary of the consecration of the new St. Peter's Basilica (1626), one of the high points of the Roman Baroque and of Bernini's activity. The exhibition, therefore, highlights how the ambition of a Pope and the genius of an artist rewrote the aesthetics of an entire era.

The itinerary, divided into six sections, each dedicated to an important aspect of the relationship between Bernini and the Barberini family, documents Bernini's career from his beginnings to his full maturity, highlighting the transition from late Mannerism learned in the workshop of his father, Pietro Bernini, to a personal language of great expressive power.

The exhibition features key works such as the Saint Sebastian from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid and the Putto with Dragon from the Getty Museum, which testify to the moment when Baroque sculpture was born and developed. These works are accompanied by exceptional loans such as The Four Seasons from the Aldobrandini collection, which offer a deeper insight into the relationship between the father Pietro Bernini, sculptor and artist, and his son Gian Lorenzo.

For the first time, the Gallery of Portraits of the Barberini Ancestors returns to Palazzo Barberini, featuring marble masterpieces by Bernini, Giuliano Finelli, and Francesco Mochi, now scattered among numerous collections. Special attention is given to the images of Urbano VIII. Bernini the painter is also given considerable space, represented by canvases exhibited for the first time, while drawings, engravings, and models highlight the artist's role in the major construction projects of St. Peter's, from the Baldacchino to the remodeling of the transept, and even the funerary monument of Urbano VIII. At the end of the exhibition's itinerary, Bernini's works are compared with those of other great artists of his time, including Guido Reni, in a journey through the tastes of the 17th century and the Barberini family, a dynasty that renewed completely the face of Rome during the Baroque era.

The exhibition is organized with the support of Main Partner Intesa Sanpaolo and with the patronage of the Fabbrica di San Pietro.

Photo: official poster of the exhibition