In a few days, specifically from February 12 to June 14, 2026, the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica di Palazzo Barberini will present the exhibition “Bernini and the Barberini”, curated by Andrea Bacchi and Maurizia Cicconi, dedicated to the relationship between Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Maffeo Barberini, who became Pope Urban VIII, a great promoter of the Roman Baroque.
The exhibition traces Bernini’s career and Urban VIII’s fundamental role in the birth and rise of the Baroque, coinciding with the four-hundredth anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter’s Basilica (1626). The exhibition is supported by Intesa Sanpaolo and sponsored by the Fabbrica di San Pietro, with exceptional loans from major international museums, including the Louvre, the Albertina in Vienna, the Getty Museum, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza.
A central focus is dedicated to the debate on the birth of the Baroque and the patronage of the Barberini family, also evidenced by the return to Palazzo Barberini of three historic tapestries depicting the lives of Christ, Constantine, and Urban VIII. Maffeo Barberini emerges as a complex figure: a poet, intellectual, and refined patron, but also a protagonist of nepotistic practices, which he nevertheless balanced with an international cultural vision.
The exhibition presents sculptural and pictorial works by Bernini, including his only major public painting, on loan from the National Gallery in London, and famous busts rarely on display, such as Costanza Bonarelli and Thomas Baker. Alongside Bernini, key seventeenth-century artists such as Guido Reni, Borromini, Pietro da Cortona, Finelli, and Mochi engage in dialogue, highlighting the vibrant artistic scene of the era.
Ample space is dedicated to Bernini’s early training, his extraordinary talent even in adolescence, and the great masterpieces commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. The rivalry with Borromini also emerges in the construction of Palazzo Barberini, a symbol of the differing architectural visions that marked the Roman Baroque.
The exhibition is intended as a journey through Baroque Rome, telling the story of a dialogue between art, power, and creativity that shaped the image of the city and Western art.
An event that art enthusiasts cannot afford to miss.
