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Painter, 1596 to 1669

Pietro da Cortona

Stand in the great hall of Palazzo Barberini and look up. The ceiling that seems to have no roof is where Baroque decoration starts.

The ceiling of the great hall of Palazzo Barberini by Pietro da Cortona: figures swirling through an open painted sky.
Livioandronico2013, CC BY-SA 4.0
Born
1596, Cortona, Italy
Died
1669, Rome, Italy
Movement
Baroque
In Rome
3 works in 3 museums

Where to see Pietro da Cortona in Rome

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

Palazzo Barberini1 work

  1. The ceiling of the great hall of Palazzo Barberini by Pietro da Cortona: figures swirling through an open painted sky.

    The Triumph of Divine Providence

    1633 to 1639

    The ceiling of the great hall: Providence commands that the Barberini bees be crowned with immortality, and a hundred figures swirl through a painted sky to see it done.

Capitoline Museums1 work

  1. The Rape of the Sabines

    about 1627 to 1629

    The founding crime of Rome as a great swirl of bodies, in the picture gallery.

Santa Maria in Vallicella1 work

  1. The frescoes of the Chiesa Nuova

    1647 to 1665

    The dome, the apse and the vault of the nave, painted over nearly twenty years.

The life of Pietro da Cortona

Pietro Berrettini was born at Cortona in Tuscany in 1596 and came to Rome as a young man. The Barberini family, whose pope Urban VIII reigned from 1623, made him their painter.

He was an architect as well, and with Bernini and Borromini one of the three who gave Rome its Baroque face. He died there in 1669.

What to know

  • Painted the ceiling of the great hall of Palazzo Barberini
  • Architect of Santa Maria della Pace and Santi Luca e Martina
  • Painter to the Barberini pope, Urban VIII
Born
1 November 1596, Cortona, Italy
Died
16 May 1669, Rome, Italy

Pietro da Cortona: common questions

Where can you see Pietro da Cortona in Rome?
At Palazzo Barberini: The Triumph of Divine Providence. At the Capitoline Museums: The Rape of the Sabines. At Santa Maria in Vallicella: The frescoes of the Chiesa Nuova. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Pietro da Cortona's most famous work in Rome?
The Triumph of Divine Providence, of 1633 to 1639, at Palazzo Barberini. The ceiling of the great hall: Providence commands that the Barberini bees be crowned with immortality, and a hundred figures swirl through a painted sky to see it done.
When and where was Pietro da Cortona born?
On 1 November 1596, at Cortona, Italy. Pietro da Cortona died on 16 May 1669, at Rome, Italy, aged about 73.
What is Pietro da Cortona known for?
Painted the ceiling of the great hall of Palazzo Barberini. Architect of Santa Maria della Pace and Santi Luca e Martina. Painter to the Barberini pope, Urban VIII. Pietro da Cortona was an Italian painter, of the Baroque.

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