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.
The article argues that the succession of popes over centuries, from Sixtus IV and Julius II to Urban VIII, constitute history's ultimate art patrons and collectors. Their sustained commissioning and accumulation of works—from the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica to entire cityscapes—created an unparalleled artistic legacy that defines Rome today, rivaling even famed secular collectors like Catherine the Great or Louis XIV in scale and endurance.