Barberini - Patrons of The Arts

Patrons of The Arts

The fine Palazzo Barberini, the Barberini library (now a core section of the Vatican's Biblioteca Apostolica), and the many buildings, altars, and other projects spread across Rome (and marked with the heraldic three bees) give evidence of the family's wealth, taste and magnificence in the seventeenth century. The family commissioned many artists, such as Lorenzo Ottoni, to undertake various Baberini-centric projects. The family were also important early patrons of opera, maintaining "star" singers like Marc'Antonio Pasqualini on payroll, and building the private Teatro delle Quattro Fontane. Many objects from the Barberini art collections are scattered in museums around the world including:

  • The Barberini Faun and Barberini Apollo, sold to Ludwig I of Bavaria and now in the Munich Glyptothek
  • The Barberini Venus
  • The Barberini Hera, also seen in this head;
  • The Portland Vase (once known as the Barberini Vase), bought from the family by Sir William Hamilton and now in the British Museum
  • The Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power

A nucleus remains in the hands of the family, as well as in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, which occupies part of the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. The cultural influence of the dynasty was considerable, and provided the subject for a major international conference in December 2004 (and subsequent publication), entitled I Barberini e la Cultura Europea.

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    Distinguished civil servants, chairmen of many committees,
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    —T.S. (Thomas Stearns)

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