Carlo Maratti e il ritratto. Papi e Principi del Barocco romano

The National Galleries of Ancient Art in Palazzo Barberini present a refined and previously unseen exhibition dedicated to the great painter of the Italian 17th century on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his birth and the publication of the catalogue raisonné of his works.

Curated by Simonetta Prosperi, Valenti Rodinò and Yuri Primarosa, the exhibition highlights the portrait mastery of an extraordinary artist, a protagonist of the Roman and Italian art scene in the second half of the 17th century.

A brilliant pupil of Andrea Sacchi, Maratti produced a rich and harmonious gallery of faces, portraying popes, prelates, members of the aristocracy, Roman women, the first ‘milords’ of the Grand Tour, notable professionals, relatives and friends, such as the intendant Giovan Pietro Bellori, his admirer, protector and intellectual alter ego. 

Among the works on display are paintings realised for Clemente IX Rospigliosi and various members of the Barberini family, some exhibited for the first time, the Portrait of Maria Maddalena Rospigliosi Panciatichi (1664) with the best dress of her trousseau, the official portrait of Prince Maffeo Barberini (c. 1670-1671), the Portrait of Cardinal Giacomo Rospigliosi (1680), and the portrait of Pope Clemente IX Rospigliosi (1669), flanked, in a spectacular comparison between classicism and baroque, by the work of the same pontiff painted by Giovan Battista Gaulli.

A reference figure for Roman artistic taste for over fifty years, the Master from the Marches, mainly known for his sacred-themed works and numerous decorations for the churches of Rome, was a sublime portraitist who conquered European fame thanks to his talent in capturing the essence of the personalities portrayed, combining physical and psychological features and depicting them among objects revealing their status, passions, aspirations and profession.  

Photo: Carlo Maratti, Portrait of Giovan Pietro Bellori, 1672-1673 circa, Oil on canvas, Roma, Alessandra Di Castro Collection, detail