Due to the overwhelming turnout and widespread public interest, “Caravaggio 2025” exhibition at Palazzo Barberini, Rome, has extended its opening hours until midnight from Thursday to Sunday (last admission at 11 PM).
Following its immense success, the exhibition—open since 29 May—now offers evening visits until midnight on weekends. Originally inaugurated on 7 March and running until 6 July 2025, it is a collaboration with Galleria Borghese, supported by the Directorate General of Museums, the Ministry of Culture, and main partner Intesa Sanpaolo.
This major cultural event stands as one of the most ambitious and significant projects ever dedicated to Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio (1571–1610). It presents an exceptional number of autograph paintings and a curated journey through rarely seen works and recent discoveries, all hosted in one of the most symbolic venues representing the artist’s deep ties with his patrons.
Divided into four thematic sections, the exhibition traces Caravaggio’s entire artistic journey—from his arrival in Rome around 1595 to his death in Porto Ercole in 1610—through 24 masterpieces rarely seen together.
Caravaggio’s Challenging Debut in Rome
The first rooms focus on his early Roman years. Arriving in the capital around 1595, Caravaggio—despite already being trained in the Milanese workshop of Simone Peterzano, a pupil of Tiziano—was, according to biographers, initially forced to survive on ingenuity alone.
His early works depict naturalistic subjects. He also briefly worked in the studio of the esteemed Giuseppe Cesari, known as Cavalier d’Arpino, painting fruit and flowers. At Palazzo Barberini, “Il Mondafrutto” and “Il Bacchino malato” are shown together for the first time.
Fortune soon brought Caravaggio into contact with his most influential patron: the cultured and eclectic Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, who owned “I Musici,” “La Buona Ventura,” and “I Bari”—masterpieces of that “comic painting” style that defined his youthful period, still marked by a soft and exploratory use of light.
Around the same time, Caravaggio also established ties with the banker Ottavio Costa, owner of the contemplative “San Francesco in Estasi,” his first sacred painting in Rome. In 1600, Caravaggio achieved his first major breakthrough with the commission of two panels for the Cappella Cerasi in Santa Maria del Popolo: “La Crocifissione di San Pietro” and “La Conversione di Saulo.” Palazzo Barberini now displays the original draft of the former—executed on a rare and valuable cypress wood panel (237 × 189 cm)—which differs from the final canvas version.
A Rarity on Display: Caravaggio’s Portraits
The second section, “Ingagliardire gli occhi,” presents Caravaggio’s rare and much-coveted portrait works. Although archival records and prints suggest he produced many, few have survived.
For the first time, two portraits of Maffeo Barberini from private collections are exhibited side by side. As noted by Giulio Mancini, Caravaggio painted Maffeo more than once. The famous “Corsini” version—attributed to Caravaggio by Lionello Venturi (1912), Gianni Papi, and Keith Christiansen (2010)—is displayed alongside a rediscovered version, attributed by Roberto Longhi in 1963 and now accepted by scholars. The latter vividly illustrates Caravaggio’s naturalistic revolution in portraiture, a genre considered secondary at the time.
Caravaggio did not confine himself to noble or clerical subjects. His sacred figures often feature models from lower social classes, such as the celebrated courtesan Fillide Melandroni, possibly depicted in “Marta e Maria Maddalena,” “Giuditta che decapita Oloferne,” and “Santa Caterina d’Alessandria.”
The latter holds special importance: according to biographer Bellori, it marked the beginning of Caravaggio’s shift toward enhancing darker tones—a style that would later define his masterpieces for the Cappella Contarelli, still housed in San Luigi dei Francesi.
Caravaggio’s Masterpieces: The Sacred and the Tragic
The third section, “Il dramma sacro tra Roma e Napoli,” begins with Caravaggio’s first public commission in 1599, made possible by Cardinal del Monte: the Saint Matthew cycle for San Luigi dei Francesi’s Cappella Contarelli. This commission marks a turning point, after which Caravaggio focused almost exclusively on sacred themes, shaping the intense tragic style that became his signature.
This section includes celebrated religious works such as “La Cattura di Cristo” and “San Giovanni Battista” (from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City), the latter shown alongside a version from the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica.
In spring 1606, after being sentenced to death, Caravaggio fled to the Colonna estates in Lazio, where he painted “La Cena in Emmaus” and perhaps “San Francesco in meditazione.” The powerful “Davide e Golia” from Galleria Borghese—featuring the artist as Goliath—may also date to this period, expressing remorse for the murder he had committed.
Later that year, he relocated to Naples, where he was widely admired and produced works like the recently rediscovered “Ecce Homo” and the dramatic “La Flagellazione,” painted for the chapel of San Domenico Maggiore.
The Final Years: A Tormented Journey
The last section, “Finale di partita,” recounts Caravaggio’s tumultuous final years. Eager to return to his beloved Rome, he traveled to Malta seeking entry into the Ordine dei Cavalieri Gerosolimitani, hoping for a papal pardon. Thanks to portraits such as “Ritratto di cavaliere di Malta,” he was knighted, only to be imprisoned again. After a daring escape, he fled to Sicily—visiting Syracuse and Messina—before returning to Naples, where he created final masterpieces like “San Giovanni Battista” (Galleria Borghese) and “Martirio di Sant’Orsola,” painted for Marcantonio Doria just days before his last journey.
In 1610, believing he had received the Pope’s pardon, Caravaggio sailed for Rome with several paintings meant for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, including “San Giovanni Battista.” But he never made it. Likely detained in Palo and later released, he died en route to Porto Ercole at just thirty-nine years old, under still-mysterious circumstances.
A unique highlight of the exhibition—located outside the museum walls—is “Giove, Nettuno e Plutone,” the only mural Caravaggio ever painted, inside the Casino dell’Aurora at Villa Ludovisi (Porta Pinciana). Commissioned by Cardinal del Monte, it adorns the ceiling of his alchemical chamber and depicts the Paracelsian triad: Jupiter as sulfur and air, Neptune as mercury and water, and Pluto as salt and earth.