pope francis contemporary art obituary

Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has died at age 88. A Jesuit priest from Argentina, he was the first pope from the Americas and the first from outside Europe since the 8th century. During his papacy, he took progressive stances on social justice, migrants, the environment, and the LGBTQ community, and also engaged deeply with contemporary art. He oversaw the Vatican Museums, ordered the return of Parthenon marble fragments to Greece, restored Raphael frescoes, and became the first pope to visit the Venice Biennale, where the Vatican had its first-ever pavilion in 2013.

Italy Acquires Caravaggio's Barberini Portrait

italy acquires caravaggio barberini

The Italian Ministry of Culture has acquired a rare Caravaggio portrait of Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII, for €30 million ($35 million). The late 16th-century masterpiece, which had been hidden in a private collection for decades, will now reside permanently at Rome’s Palazzo Barberini. The acquisition follows a successful short-term loan and extensive technical analysis that confirmed the work's authenticity.

Bernini's 17th Century Elephant Statue Damaged in Rome Again

berninis 17th century elephant statue damaged in rome again

A marble fragment from the tusk of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s 17th-century 'Elephant and Obelisk' monument was found broken off in Rome’s Piazza della Minerva. Local authorities and the Capitoline Superintendency recovered the four-inch piece, which is believed to be part of a 1977 restoration rather than the original 1667 marble. Police are currently reviewing security footage to determine if the damage resulted from intentional vandalism or natural structural wear.

Were the Popes Art History’s Ultimate Collectors?

A new exhibition, "Bernini i Barberini," at Rome's Palazzo Barberini explores the profound artistic partnership between Pope Urban VIII and the young sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. This relationship, beginning in 1623, led to decades of Baroque masterpieces that transformed Rome's architecture and urban design, showcasing the papacy's use of art as a tool of power and propaganda.

italy purchases rare caravaggio portrait

The Italian government has acquired a rare Caravaggio portrait for €30 million ($34.7 million), marking one of the state's most significant art purchases to date. The painting depicts Monsignor Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII, and was previously held in a private Florentine collection before being transferred to the permanent collection of the Palazzo Barberini in Rome.

Italy purchases rare Caravaggio painting for $34.7 million.

Italy purchases rare Caravaggio painting for $34.7 million.

The Italian government has purchased Caravaggio's *Ecce Homo* for $34.7 million, preventing the 17th-century masterpiece from leaving the country. The painting, which depicts a bound Christ presented to the crowd, was sold by its private owners after its rediscovery and authentication in 2021. The state exercised its right of first refusal to match a sale agreed with an unnamed foreign buyer, securing the work for public ownership.

Could 17th-century Italy provide a useful model for today’s challenging art market?

An exhibition at Nicholas Hall Gallery in New York, titled "Beyond the Fringe," explores the understudied early art market of 17th-century Italy, featuring 30 works on loan from public and private collections. The show highlights how barbers, tailors, innkeepers, and other tradespeople became part-time art dealers, while a decentralized network of collectors and middlemen emerged alongside foreign artists in Rome, such as the Bentvueghels, who produced new genres like landscape and genre scenes. The exhibition and its catalogue, with new research by art historians Patrizia Cavazzini and Caterina Volpi, trace the rise of art as an alternative asset class independent of traditional aristocratic and ecclesiastical patronage.

Remembering Pope Francis, for 12 years head of the Catholic church and proprietor in trust of the Vatican's library and art collections

Pope Francis, the 266th pope and the first from the Americas and the Global South, has died. He was the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, head of state of the Vatican, and proprietor in trust of the Vatican's vast art and architectural collections. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, he was the first Jesuit pope and the first to take the name Francis, signaling a commitment to austerity and social justice. His papacy, beginning in 2013 after Benedict XVI's resignation, addressed theological controversies, church culture wars, interfaith relations, Vatican financial reform, the clergy sexual abuse crisis, and cultural restitution from the Vatican's holdings.

Caravaggio portrait of influential patron—and future Pope Urban VIII—purchased by Italy for €30m

The Italian government has acquired a rare Caravaggio portrait of Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII, for €30 million following a year of negotiations with private owners. The 17th-century masterpiece, which depicts one of the artist's most influential patrons, will join the permanent collection of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica at Palazzo Barberini in Rome. It represents one of the largest sums ever paid by the Italian state for a single work of art.

The Big Review | Caravaggio 2025 at Palazzo Barberini, Rome ★★★

The article reviews the "Caravaggio 2025" exhibition at Palazzo Barberini in Rome, which brings together 24 paintings by the Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Curated by Francesca Cappelletti, Maria Cristina Terzaghi, and Thomas Clement Salomon, the show is accompanied by a heavy marketing campaign tied to the Catholic Church's Jubilee year. The review notes that while any gathering of Caravaggio's works guarantees a beautiful experience, the exhibition's title and scope remain unclear, and the curatorial approach—divided into four thematic sections—feels disjointed. Highlights include the reunion of three paintings from Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte's collection and the public display of the recently identified portrait of Maffeo Barberini.

rome charges fee for trevi fountain

Rome has introduced a €2.35 entry fee for the Trevi Fountain, one of the world's most famous monuments, effective February 1 during daylight hours (9am to 9pm). The measure, announced by Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, aims to curb overtourism by limiting viewership to 400 people at a time. The fountain currently welcomes up to 70,000 visitors per day, and the fee could raise an estimated $7.6 million annually for maintenance. Similar fees will apply to four other city sites, while Roman citizens retain free access.