Palazzo Barberini Opens New Temporary Exhibition Space with 'Tempo Barocco'

Palazzo Barberini in Rome has inaugurated a new large space on its ground floor, consisting of eight completely restored and renovated rooms dedicated to temporary exhibitions. The inaugural show, 'Tempo Barocco', is curated by Francesca Cappelletti, newly appointed director of the Galleria Borghese, and Flaminia Gennari Santori, director of the Gallerie Nazionali Barberini e Corsini. The exhibition explores the conception and perception of time through the aesthetic vision of the 17th-century Baroque, characterized by theatricality and dynamic plasticity. It features about forty works, predominantly by artists based in Rome, and includes loans from prestigious museums such as the Uffizi, Museo del Prado, National Gallery of London, and Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. The show is divided into five didactic sections, punctuated by precious and refined clocks crafted by renowned manufacturers of the era, including the Campani brothers' workshop in Rome. Highlights include Valentin de Boulogne's allegorical tavern scene, Guido Cagnacci's sensual oil painting of a semi-nude woman with an uroboros, Christian Berentz's meticulous vanitas still lifes, and Alessandro Algardi's black marble sculpture 'Allegoria del sonno' (Allegory of Sleep), which the reviewer found most captivating. The exhibition opened in June 2021.