Barberini Tapestry Cartoons on Display at Palazzo Barberini

Palazzo Barberini in Rome hosts 'Glorie di carta. Il disegno degli arazzi Barberini' until April 22, 2018, curated by Maurizia Cicconi and Michele Di Monte. The exhibition dedicates a room to preparatory cartoons for the prestigious Barberini family tapestry series, commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII, as part of a political and media strategy. In 1625, Cardinal Francesco received seven magnificent tapestries from Louis XIII, woven from Rubens' designs depicting the Stories of Constantine. Aspiring to international prestige, he founded a tapestry workshop in Rome in 1627, aiming to rival French productions. He gathered leading artists, notably Pietro da Cortona, to establish Rome as a center of excellence under the Barberini emblem. The exhibition features paintings including Pietro da Cortona's 'Ritratto di Urbano VIII' and Andrea Sacchi's 'Visita di Urbano VIII al Gesù', along with three preparatory cartoons from cycles depicting the Stories of Constantine, the Life of Christ, and the Stories of Urban VIII. Works such as Pietro da Cortona's 'Costantino abbatte gli idoli', Giovan Francesco Romanelli's 'La Natività', and Antonio Gherardi's 'Maffeo Barberini presiede i lavori di bonifica del lago Trasimeno' offer a glimpse of the splendor and glory of the Barberini tapestries.