Sculptpedia Statues, Busts and Sculptures Park sculptures and installations Ancient World & Antiquity Middle Ages & Renaissance Marble & Other Stones Bronze & Other Metals

Bust of Francesco Barberini

The Bust of Francesco Barberini is a marble sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, made in 1623. It was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII, Francesco Barberini’s nephew. Barberini, an apostolic protonotary, died in 1600, so Bernini based the sculpture on an earlier portrait of him by Caravaggio, now in the Corsini collection in Florence. Bernini followed the painting closely, though the original shows the sitter in three-quarter view, while the sculpture is a bust of the head, shoulders, and upper torso. The work is conserved in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

White marble bust of Francesco Barberini with a beard, mustache, and draped cape on a pedestal.
Francesco Barberini bust in white marble, shown from the chest up on a decorative pedestal.
October 2007 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Marble bust of Francesco Barberini with a full beard, wearing a draped cape and collared garment, on an ornate pedestal.
The Bust of Francesco Barberini, shown here as a white marble sculpture on an ornate pedestal.
October 2007 © sailko · CC BY-SA 3.0
Francesco Barberini bust in white marble, shown with a full beard, mustache, and draped cloak on an ornate pedestal.
White marble bust of Francesco Barberini on an ornate pedestal.
· CC0
Francesco Barberini bust in white marble, shown on a fluted pedestal against a muted blue-gray background.
White marble bust of Francesco Barberini on a decorative pedestal.
September 2010 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleBust of Francesco Barberini
SubjectFrancesco Barberini
TypeBust

Historical context

Commissioned byPope Urban VIII
Subject deathFrancesco Barberini died in 1600
Subject roleApostolic protonotary
Commission contextCommissioned at the request of Pope Urban VIII, who was Francesco Barberini's uncle
Century17th century
Creation period1620s
Date1623

Creator

Artist nationalityItalian
ArtistGian Lorenzo Bernini

Discovery and provenance

Model portraitAn earlier painted portrait of Francesco Barberini by Caravaggio in the Corsini Collection, Florence
Relation to model portraitBernini closely followed the painted portrait
Portrait formatThree-quarter view

Materials

MaterialMarble

Physical characteristics

FormatBust of head, shoulders, and upper chest

Location and ownership

Current locationNational Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
ProvenanceOriginally in Palazzo Barberini, Rome; transferred to another Barberini family mansion in 1635; returned to the Palazzo on Via Sistina and remained there until about 1948; sold to Count Alessandro Contini-Bonacossi; acquired by the Kress Foundation in 1950 with a collection of 125 paintings; donated to the National Gallery of Art in 1961 as part of the Kress Collection donation