Francesco Barberini (1597–1679)

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Cardinal-Bishop
Personal details
Born23 September 1597
Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Died10 December 1679 (aged 82)
Rome, Papal States
Previous post(s)Cardinal-Bishop of Porto–Santa Rufina (1652–1666)
Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina (1645–1652)
Cardinal-Deacon of San Lorenzo in Damaso
(1632–1644)
Archpriest of St Peter's Basilica (1629–1667)
Cardinal-Deacon of Sant'Agata de' Goti, Rome (1624–1632)
Cardinal-Deacon of Sant'Onofrio (1623–1624)
Archpriest of St John Lateran
(1623–1629)
Coat of armsFrancesco Barberini's coat of arms

Francesco Barberini (23 September 1597 – 10 December 1679)[1] was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. The nephew of Pope Urban VIII (reigned 1623–1644), he benefited immensely from the nepotism practiced by his uncle. He was given various roles within the Vatican administration but his personal cultural interests, particularly in literature and the arts, meant that he became a highly significant patron. His secretary was the antiquarian Cassiano dal Pozzo who was also a discerning patron of the arts. Francesco was the elder brother of Cardinal Antonio Barberini and Taddeo Barberini who became Prince of Palestrina.

Career

He was born in

Carlo Barberini and Costanza Magalotti, and studied at the University of Pisa,[2] graduating in canon and civil law in 1623. His uncle, Maffeo Barberini, newly elected as Pope Urban VIII, made him archpriest of S. Giovanni in Laterano, and two months later, cardinal deacon of Sant'Onofrio, which was exchanged the following year for Sant'Agata de' Goti. At the age of twenty six, he was appointed secretary of state and papal legate to Avignon
.

In 1625, he went to Paris as special legate and from March to September, undertook various negotiations with

Marquisate of Montferrat and during the Thirty Years' War
.

In July 1626 he was appointed Bibliothecarius of the Vatican Library, a position he held until December 1633. In 1632 he was named papal Vice-Chancellor. In 1627 he was named commendatory abbot of Farfa Abbey.[1]

Cardinal Francesco Barberini by Andrea Sacchi

As the Grand Inquisitor of the Roman Inquisition, a post he held from 1633 until his death, he was part of the Inquisition tribunal investigating Galileo; he was one of three members of the tribunal who refused to condemn Galileo.[b]

Hostilities between the papacy and the

papal conclave of 1644, Francesco and Antonio Barberini switched their vote to support Giovanni Battista Pamphili in the hope that he might look more favorably upon them. They were wrong. Pamphili, who took the name of Innocent X (1644–1655) instigated investigation into their handling of the finances in the War of Castro forcing first Antonio to flee to Paris in 1645, to be followed by Francesco and his brother Taddeo Barberini in 1646.[5] Here they remained under the protection of Cardinal Mazarin. Two years later, Francesco was pardoned by the pope who restored confiscated properties to him.[c]

On his return to Rome, Francesco resumed his role as a patron of arts although on a reduced scale. The cardinal refused to meet with Bargrave (despite a number of requests over some 11 months) on the basis that he held letters of introduction addressed to cardinals Capponi and Panciroli but not to him, suggesting Bargrave had met with others first.[6]

In 1666 he became

1676. At the 1669 conclave, Barberini opposed the nomination of Cardinal Pietro Vidoni because his opinion about Vidoni's candidacy had not been solicited.[7]

He died in Rome in 10 December 1679.[1]

Patronage

"Barberini's vast income from his many benefices was estimated at 100,000

scudi, allowing him to fully indulge in his collecting passions."[8] He was active as a patron of the arts both as a private patron and within broader spheres. He was a member of several learned and literary associations, including the Accademia dei Lincei.[citation needed] In 1623 he became a member of the Conregazione della Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro and was able to secure altarpiece commissions for St Peter’s by artists such as Giovanni Lanfranco, Andrea Sacchi, Pietro da Cortona, Nicolas Poussin, Simon Vouet and Valentin.[9] Privately, he bought several paintings by Poussin during the artist's early years in Rome.[10]

Palazzo Barberini

In 1625, he acquired the

illusionism, colour, movement and ornamentation that marked a new departure for secular Baroque interior decoration.[citation needed
]

Also at the Palazzo Barberini, Francesco established the Arazzia Barberini or Barberini Tapestry works in 1627 which remained open until 1679, Its production included six tapestries designed by Cortona on the theme of the ‘Story of Constantine’ to complement those the Cardinal had received from the French king in 1625, designed by Rubens.

Giovan Francesco Romanelli to carry out other paintings and altarpieces, and also made him Supervisor of the Tapestry works [12]

In February 1634, a revised version of Il Sant'Alessio, was performed at the Cardinal's private theater in the Palazzo.[13] The Cardinal had written the libretto and Stefano Landi the music.[14]

He founded a rich library at the Palazzo Barberini which included ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts, and he supported numerous European intellectuals, scholars, scientists and artists, including

Gerhard Johann Vossius, Heinsius and John Milton.[15] Also at the Palazzo Barberini, he initiated a small natural science museum and botanical garden and his collections attested to his interests in ancient sculpture, numismatics and inscriptions.[16] The Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis, sometimes referred to as the Codex Barberini, was named in his honour. The Palazzo Barberini now houses part of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.[9]

Churches

Cardinal Francesco Barberini contributed financially to churches in Rome. As protector of the

Sant'Agata dei Goti.[17]

In 1627 Cardinal Barberini was named abbot in commendam of Grottaferrata, and subsequently commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini to provide the high altar. Although initially he made funds available for the construction of

San Lorenzo fuori le Mura and designed by Cortona.[citation needed
]

Episcopal succession

Notes

  1. ^ such as the dispute about Valtellina with Spain
  2. ^ The other two were Cardinals Laudivio Zacchia and Gaspare Borgia.[4]
  3. bishop of Sabina

References

  1. ^ a b c Merola, Alberto (1964). "BARBERINI, Francesco". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 6.
  2. ^ Catholic.net – Galileo's contribution to the Church Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Haskell, Francis. Patrons and Painters, Yale University Press, 1980, p. 44
  4. ^ Miranda, S. "Cardinal L. Zacchia"
  5. ^ Haskell, 1980, p. 59
  6. ^ Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals by John Bargrave, edited by James Craigie Robertson (reprint; 2009)
  7. ^ Baumgartner, Frederic J., Behind Locked Doors. (2003) Palgrave Macmillan, p. 159
  8. ^ "Biblioteca Barberina", Christie's, 22 March 2005
  9. ^
    ISBN 9780199532940
  10. ^ Rosenberg, Pierre; Temperini, Renaud (1994). Poussin – "Je n'ai rien négligé" (in French). Paris: Gallimard, p. 22
  11. ^ ‘Barberini Tapestry Workshop’, Oxford Art Online
  12. ^ Haskell, 1980, p. 53
  13. ISBN 3-492-02413-0
    , pp. 407-409.
  14. ^ "Cardinal Francesco Barberini", The Mask, Volume 14, Number 2, April 1928
  15. Leo XIII
    and became part of the Vatican holdings. Magnuson, Torgil. Rome in the Age of Bernini, volume 1, Stockholm, 1982, p.239
  16. ^ Magnuson, 1982, p.238-9
  17. ^ Blunt, Anthony. Guide to Baroque Rome, Granada, 1982
  18. ^ "Francesco Cardinal Barberini (Sr.)" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved June 24, 2017
  • Combaluzier, F. "Sacres épiscopaux à Rome de 1565 à 1662. Analyse intégrale du Ms. «Miscellanea XIII, 33» des Archives Vaticanes" Sacris Eruduri, XVIII (1967–1968), p. 229.

Further reading

  • Ketty Gottardo, 'Cardinal Francesco Barberini and the Specula Principum Tradition,' Print Quarterly, XXVIII, 2011, pp. 292–97
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Francesco Barberini.

External links

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