Jean-François Niceron's Anamorphic Wonders at Palazzo Barberini

Palazzo Barberini in Rome hosts 'Curiose Riflessioni', a small exhibition dedicated to Jean-François Niceron, a 17th-century French Minim friar, mathematician, and artist known for his catoptric anamorphoses. The show, curated by Michele Di Monte and Maurizia Cicconi, presents four catoptric anamorphoses—distorted paintings that only resolve when reflected in a polished steel cylinder—including portraits of Louis XIII of France, Saint Francis of Paola, and a disputed gallant scene. A dioptric anamorphosis facsimile reveals a portrait of Ferdinando II de' Medici when viewed through a prismatic lens. Niceron's treatise 'Perspective curieuse' (on loan from the Biblioteca Hertziana) is fully digitized for public consultation. The exhibition aims to bridge art and science, highlighting Baroque-era optical and geometric research, and is part of director Flaminia Gennari Sartori's broader revitalization of Palazzo Barberini and Galleria Corsini.