Few artists have reshaped the course of art history as profoundly as Caravaggio. With his striking use of light and shadow, raw emotional intensity and radical realism, he revolutionized painting. This year, Rome honours his enduring legacy with Caravaggio 2025, an extraordinary exhibition at Palazzo Barberini, running from March 7 to July 6.

Organized by the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in collaboration with Galleria Borghese, this ambitious project brings together an exceptional number of celebrated works, rare international loans as well as rediscovered masterpieces, many displayed side by side for the first time. Timed to coincide with the Jubilee Year, the exhibition offers an unprecedented look at Caravaggio’s artistic innovation and his profound impact on religious and social thought.

Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) I Bari 1595 c.a. olio su tela; 94,2×130,9 cm Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth (USA) Crediti: Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

Curated by Francesca Cappelletti, Maria Cristina Terzaghi, and Thomas Clement Salomon, Caravaggio 2025 is one of the most ambitious exhibitions ever dedicated to Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610). It gathers a remarkable selection of his works, from iconic pieces to lesser-known but equally significant paintings, offering fresh insights into his artistic and cultural revolution. Palazzo Barberini, a fitting venue for this exhibition, was in fact home to some of Caravaggio’s patrons and is intrinsically tied to the artist’s history.

Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) Ecce Homo 1606-1609 olio su tela; 116×86 cm Collezione Privata, Madrid (ES) Crediti: Icon Trust

Among the highlights of the exhibition is the Portrait of Maffeo Barberini, a rediscovered work that will be shown alongside other Caravaggio paintings for the first time. Visitors will also have the rare opportunity to see Ecce Homo, currently housed at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, returning to Italy for the first time in centuries. Additionally, Saint Catherine of Alexandria from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid — a piece that once belonged to the Barberini collection — will be returning to Palazzo Barberini, where it was originally housed. Another exciting reunion includes Martha and Mary Magdalene from the Detroit Institute of Arts, displayed alongside Judith and Holofernes, both featuring the same model.

The exhibition also brings together three paintings commissioned by the banker Ottavio Costa: Judith and Holofernes (Palazzo Barberini), Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness (Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City) and Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford). These works, long separated, will be displayed together once more. Another key loan, The Cardsharps from the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, will return to the Roman palace where it was once held in the Barberini collection. The exhibition culminates with The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, Caravaggio’s final painting, loaned by Intesa Sanpaolo.

Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) Martirio di Sant’Orsola 1610 olio su tela; 143×180 cm Collezione Intesa Sanpaolo Gallerie d’Italia – Napoli (IT) Crediti: Archivio Patrimonio Artistico Intesa Sanpaolo / foto Luciano Pedicini, Napoli

Caravaggio 2025 explores various aspects of the artist’s production, tracing his influence across religious commissions, portraiture and genre painting. Visitors will experience firsthand how Caravaggio’s revolutionary use of chiaroscuro reshaped the visual language of his time, creating a theatrical realism that continues to inspire. His ability to capture both the sacred and the profane, as seen in works like The Capture of Christ from the National Gallery of Ireland, underscores his role as a visionary in the evolution of modern painting.

Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) Giuditta e Oloferne 1598-1602 olio su tela; 145×195 cm Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica – Palazzo Barberini, Roma (IT) Crediti: Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica, Roma (MiC) – Bibliotheca Hertziana, Istituto Max Planck per la storia dell’arte/Enrico Fontolan

Caravaggio 2025 invites visitors to explore how one of history’s greatest painters used light and shadow to reveal the complexities of human nature, capturing not only the figures on his canvases but the deep emotion and tension they embody. With rare reunions of his masterpieces and fresh perspectives, this exhibition offers a unique opportunity to experience his art in the heart of the Eternal City.

For more information and ticket details, visit www.barberinicorsini.org.

All images are courtesy of Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica.