Caravaggio Exhibition 2025

If you are keen on art and culture, then you surely have event in Rome at this hour that you must not miss: Caravaggio 2025, the extraordinary show hosted at Palazzo Barberini from March 7 to July 6, 2025.

Organized by the National Galleries of Ancient Art in the Italian capital, Italy’s premier gallery, in partnership with the venerable Galleria Borghese, it is among the largest and most significant exhibitions ever devoted to the mercurial genius of Michelangelo Merisi, or Caravaggio as he is known (1571-1610).

Rather than a retrospective, it is an exhilarating tumble down the artistic revolution that was Caravaggio — the first exhibition ever to bring together world-famous works as well as masterpieces that have seldom been seen in public.

You will marvel at absolute masterpieces, like the long awaited Portrait of Maffeo Barberini, rediscovered after more than sixty years, and the extraordinary Ecce Homo, recently attributed to Caravaggio after a bold discovery in Spain.

And iconic works from the world’s finest museums like St. Catherine (Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid), Martha and Magdalene (Detroit Institute of Arts) and the beloved Martyrdom of St. Ursula (Gallerie d’Italia — Intesa Sanpaolo).

This exhibition is the best chance to learn more about the artist whose iconoclastic style and troubled life changed the course of art history for good.

Helpful info for the Caravaggio exhibition at Palazzo Barberini

If you want to dive into the world of Caravaggio, here’s everything to know about a visit to the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition at Palazzo Barberini. Make sure to visit Palazzo Barberini to explore this remarkable exhibition.

Dates and opening hours

March 7 to July 6, 2025

Regular hours:

Sunday to Thursday: 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. (last entry at 7:00 p.m.)

Friday and Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. (final entry at 9:00 p.m.)

The organized public are allowed access to the exhibition on Mondays

Overtime hours:

April 20 and 25, 2025: 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM

April 21, May 1 and June 2, 2025: 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m

Tickets and reservations

Tickets for the exhibition can be purchased online and on site, but we recommend to buy them in advance in particular on weekends and public holidays.

Caravaggio: a biography and history of artistic revolution

To appreciate the greatness of this exhibition, it helps to know something about the personal history of Michelangelo Merisi, who is known by all as Caravaggio. Born in 1571, likely in Milan or the small Lombard village from which he took his name, he lived a brief, fiery and tempestuous life.

As a child, Caravaggio lost his father and nearly his entire family in a plague epidemic. Brought to Rome in search of fortune in 1595, after an early apprenticeship in the Milanese workshop of an artist and disciple of Titian named Simone Peterzano. It was here he had tough times, at first making money painting still lifes and floral details at the workshop of the painter Cavalier d’Arpino.

His genius soon erupted through connections with powerful personages like Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, his first significant patron and sponsor. Caravaggio painted lively works, including I Musici and I Bari for Del Monte, whose luminescence and realism have wondrously realistic details.

But the real breakthrough came with the cycle of paintings dedicated to St. Matthew in the Roman church of San Luigi dei Francesi, where the canvases shocked the public for the extreme realism with which he rendered sacred figures and ordinary characters. From then on Caravaggio set an artistic revolution in motion impacting most of Baroque art and European painting.

He introduced into painting the technique of chiaroscuro, with its sharp contrasts between light and shadow. He painted without preparatory drawings, using real people as models, often picked right off the street. Callused hands, muddy feet and faces creased with fatigue became the heroes of works on canvas that are now immortal, like Judith and Holofernes, or the dramatic Martyrdom of St. Ursula. 'Judith Beheading Holofernes' is a prime example of his dramatic and realistic style.

His storied life was one of conflict, duels and even murder. In 1606, this was Caravaggio in Rome after the murder of Ranuccio Tomassoni and the need to get away from Rome to avoid capital punishment. In the years he spent, enmeshed in troubles, between Naples, Malta and Sicily, the painter produced extraordinary masterpieces despite being a fugitive from justice.

His death was tragic — in 1610 he was forty-nine (though the age of thirty-nine is usually cited), and he was dying trying to get back to Rome to get a papal pardon. His death, still a mystery more than 50 years later, has spun legends that made him into a modern myth.

Venue: Palazzo Barberini, for the exhibition

By visiting the Caravaggio 2025 show, you also will have access to one of the loveliest and most consequential palaces in Rome: Palazzo Barberini, also known as Barberini Palace. This building itself serves not only as a stunning setting for the works on view, but as a genuine emblem of the high artistic patronage of the Barberini family, one of the most powerful of the seventeenth-century Roman “barons.”

The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica is housed within the palace, showcasing an impressive collection of older paintings.

It was designed by great architects like Carlo Maderno and Francesco Borromini and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. As you walk through its cénotaph, you’ll notice the well-known Barberin crest: three golden bees which represents the family’s industriousness and greatness.

The building was commissioned by Maffeo Barberini, who became pope as Urban VIII in 1623. Maffeo, a refined man and lover of art, was also one of Caravaggio’s main patrons. To his written portrait is dedicated the remarkable Portrait of Maffeo Barberini, which hangs next to other beauties in this show, now finally unveiled after decades of void.

Another critical character was Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, the first and essential patron of the young Caravaggio, who introduced him into Roman art circles, and who has a substantial presence in Palazzo Barberini.

Would you like to know more about the palace’s history? The history of Palazzo Barberini.

Caravaggio: the 17th century masterpieces on display

The Caravaggio 2025 exhibition assembles an extraordinary grouping of 24 masterpieces, many of which are rarely seen on public display. It’s a rare chance to see works by the Lombard genius close-up and discover minute details that reveal his remarkable technique and cutting-edge realism.

Additionally, the exhibition highlights Baroque art, featuring works by Pietro da Cortona, including his renowned fresco 'The Triumph of Divine Providence' in the Palazzo Barberini, which symbolizes the spiritual and political power of the Barberini family.

Among the most anticipated works in the exhibition are:

Maffeo Barberini, Portrait of Maffeo Barberini from the Barberini family

A finally-seen work that has emerged from over sixty years of obscurity. It’s the portrait of the future Pope Urban VIII, Maffeo Barberini, one of the most influential players in the artistic world of the 17th century. The painting, which comes from a private collection, is on view for the first time, next to other works by Caravaggio, allowing an unprecedented side-by-side comparison with his portrait style.

The Ecce Homo

This canvas is the star of one of the most incredible stories in recent art: ascribed for years to a nameless follower of that school’s founding genius, Jusepe de Ribera, it’s only recently been acknowledged as a bona fide Caravaggio. It is now housed at the Prado Museum in Madrid, but for this exhibition it will return to Italy after centuries.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Another thrilling return: the Saint Catherine from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, once part of the Barberini collection. The painting shows the saint with a face full of humanity, a rare example of Caravaggio’s sensibility regarding sacred figures to look like real people.

Martha and Magdalene

From the Detroit Institute of Arts, this canvas captures a moment of energy, conversion and introspection. The model for Caravaggio is likely the same young woman he used in Judith and Holofernes, which survives in Palazzo Barberini itself.

Saint John the Baptist

Versions of this subject will be on view: one from the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, another from the Capitoline Museums, and the one Greene preserved at Galleria Corsini. This comparison will enable viewers to see how Caravaggio reframed the subject matter in the light and physicality of the models.

Saint Francis in Ecstasy

Loaned by the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, this is one of the most resonant images of the saint, enveloped in a dimension of mystical ecstasy evoked through a masterly use of chiaroscuro.

The Bari

Arriving from the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, this painting is among the first masterpieces that introduced Caravaggio to Roman collectors. The scene is an amazing piece of visual storytelling, with every tiny detail capturing the pressure of gambling.

Martyrdom of Saint Ursula

This is also the last work made by Caravaggio, shortly before his passing. The painting, from the Gallerie d’Italia – Intesa Sanpaolo, depicts the killing of the saint with rawness and drama.

Between these masterpieces, the exhibition itinerary will also feature Judith and Holofernes, Narcissus and many other of the artist’s iconic works, arranged in a manner to place the master’s various creative phases in conversation.

Rare artworks and exceptional loans

One of the things that gives urgent visibility to Caravaggio 2025 is the presence of works that the public rarely sees. Some of the paintings are loans from major international museums, while others are from private collections, giving them a rare chance to be admired live.

Among these rare works on display is a self-portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi, showcasing her realistic depiction and artistic skills, while also reflecting her personal history and its impact on her artwork.

Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto

Among the absolute rarities at the exhibition is the Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, a fresco painted around 1597 inside the Casino dell’Aurora at Villa Ludovisi in Rome. It is the only wall painting attributed to Caravaggio, and is normally closed to visitors. The painting, commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, is an allegorical alchemical composition with the three Olympian gods and their associated symbols: Jupiter (air and sulfur), Neptune (water and mercury) and Pluto (earth and salt).

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

A gem of a loan is the Saint Catherine of Alexandria from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. This is a painting that belonged to the Barberini family, but was sold abroad in the Fascist era. Now, almost a century later, it finally goes back to the now-familiar rooms that used to host it.

The two portraits of Maffeo Barberini

One of the most intriguing new features of the exhibition is an unseen paired comparison of two portraits of Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII. The other is from the private collection of the Princes Corsini of Florence; one was recently rediscovered (the Italian state is negotiating its purchase). This is the first time these two portraits have been shown together, providing an unprecedented glimpse of the ways in which Caravaggio depicted his illustrious patron.

The three paintings by Ottavio Costa he commissioned, reunited after 400 years

Among Caravaggio’s most important collectors was banker Ottavio Costa, who commissioned three masterpieces from the Lombard painter:

Figure of Judith with Holofernes (Palazzo Barberini)

Saint John the Baptist (Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City)

Saint Francis in Ecstasy (The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford)

These three paintings, separated by over four centuries, will be united for the first time in this show, enabling a direct comparison of subjects, techniques and colors.

The Martyrdom of St. Ursula, loaned.

The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, considered to be Caravaggio’s last painting, comes from the Gallerie d’Italia — Intesa Sanpaolo. Made in 1610, just before his death, it’s a piece that embodies all the drama and emotional tension typical of his later canvases.

Such a selection of works makes the exhibition a once-in-a-lifetime experience, masters unlikely to be assembled again.

Thematic sections of the exhibit

The exhibition is divided into four thematic sections, intended to guide visitors through the evolution of the master’s style and the influence that radiated to Baroque painting. You will see how his style evolved in each section, how the young man experimented in his pre-great works, the masterpieces of maturity. The importance of exhibition spaces in organizing these thematic sections cannot be overstated, as they allow for a coherent and immersive experience for visitors.

The first part is reserved for Caravaggio’s early years in Rome, the years after the artist moved to the city, circa 1595, and began to establish his reputation with the patronage of Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte.

Here are some of Caravaggio’s early masterpieces, like The Musicians (Metropolitan Museum, New York) and The Bari (Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth), which — showing his extraordinary talent for realism and dramatic composition — give a glimpse of his mural-like ambition.

Caravaggio reached this point at this stage of his journey, painting many of his own genre pieces, intimate scenes of everyday life with extraordinary attention to detail and eye-candy.

The great commissions and the revolution of the sacred

Success brought hefty commissions from Roman churches. Caravaggio had abandoned the small genre paintings and focused on religious ones — but with a wholly new vision.

This section demonstrates how Caravaggio radically transformed the tradition of sacred iconography, drawing models from the street and a brutal realism that appalled his contemporaries.

The works shown in this portion of the tour are The Capture of Christ (National Gallery, Dublin) and Saint Francis in Ecstasy (Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford).

The period of exile and the latest performance

Caravaggio was fleeing Rome, after murdering Ranuccio Tomassoni, in 1606. From this time his life is a perpetual oscillation between Naples, Malta, Sicily and Naples again.

The paintings of this era will grow even more dramatic, marked by heightened contrasts of light and unprecedented emotional charge.

Here we come across masterpieces like the Martyrdom of St. Ursula (Gallerie d’Italia – Intesa Sanpaolo) one of the last paintings done by the master, and Portrait of the Knight of Malta (Palazzo Pitti, Florence).

Caravaggio and his legacy

The exhibition’s final section is dedicated to international loans and works that tell the story of Caravaggio’s collecting.

Pope Barberini, also known as Pope Urban VIII, played a significant role in the collection of artworks, influencing the preservation and commissioning of many significant pieces.

These are seldom-seen works like the Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, the only fresco completed by Caravaggio, and the recently rediscovered Portrait of Maffeo Barberini.

This area of the exhibition includes paintings reunited for the first time in centuries, including the three works commissioned by banker Ottavio Costa, Judith and Holofernes, St. John the Baptist and St. Francis in Ecstasy.

Corsini Gallery and the Caravaggio Connection at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica

The Caravaggio 2025 exhibition also includes another jewel of Roman art, Palazzo Barberini: Corsini Gallery. A historic collection in central Trastevere, this is one of the last examples of an intact 18th-century picture gallery and features masterworks from artists including Rubens, Reni and Murillo. But its connection to Caravaggio is the most interesting.

An unprecedented comparison of the St. John the Baptist

Perhaps the most riveting part of the exhibition is a comparison of versions of St. John the Baptist, one of Caravaggio’s most famous subjects.

Saint John the Baptist, from the Corsini Gallery: This work, attributed to Caravaggio, depicts the saint in an unprecedentedly pensive and melancholy guise.

St. John the Baptist by the Nelson-Atkins Museum (Kansas City): It’s a unabashedly bombastic, high-drama paint job, with the saint drenched in aggressive chiaroscuro.

Saint John the Baptist from the Capitoline Museums: A different interpretation that highlights the physicality and muscularity of the young saint.

By placing these two works side by side, we can see how Caravaggio took the same theme and rendered it in radical ways, sometimes using different models and with varying effects of light and shadow.

curatorial and theoretical perspectives

It's not simply an exhibition event, but a way of investigating his life and works, new research and discoveries about the Lombard master. Three of Caravaggio’s foremost experts are curating the project:

Francesca Cappelletti — Director of the Galleria Borghese, a great scholar of Merisi and his collecting fortune.

Maria Cristina Terzaghi — Art historian, professor atRoma Tre University and author of multiple studies on the painter and the Caravaggesque art market.

Thomas Clement Salomon, Director of the National Galleries of Ancient Art, whose vital work on the Italian Baroque.

The icon of the cursed genius

Caravaggio’s perverse life, filled with duels, escapes and a mysterious death, has turned him into a poster child of the rioting genius. Though novels, TV series and exhibitions chronicling his life on the edge of genius and damnation have also fueled his myth, As well as appearing in fiction and graphic novels, including Andrea Camilleri’s The Color of the Sun and Milo Manara’s Caravaggio, contemporary artists like Banksy and David LaChapelle have repurposed his works with a pop and provocative twist.

Conclusion

Caravaggio 2025 is more than an exhibition—it is a unique journey into the heart of the artistic revolution of one of the most favored and scrutinized painters of all time.

At Palazzo Barberini you will admire 24 extraordinary masterpieces, some of them never before exhibited, you will discover the most authentic experimental Caravaggio that has forever changed Baroque painting.

If you have any sense of being an art person or just want to see live work that has made history, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You can not only enjoy some stellar paintings, but also learn about new research, unseen comparisons and rarely available pieces.

This is an unmissable exhibition! Get your admission now and prepare for a truly unparalleled experience in the footsteps of Caravaggio‘s genius.