CORTONA, Pietro da
(b. 1596, Cortona, d. 1669, Roma)

View of the Cappella del Crocifisso

1632
Fresco
Palazzo Barberini, Rome

The Palazzo Barberini, residence of the papal family Barberini, set a new standard for Roman palace architecture and its painted decoration. Planning for the expansion of the sixteenth-century structure was first undertaken by Carlo Maderno, then transferred after his death to Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who here distinguished himself as an architect for the first time.

The first commission for the painted decor was given to Andrea Sacchi who in 1629-30 painted the ceiling of the largest room in the wing occupied by Anna Colonna, Taddeo Barberini's wife. Sacchi painted here the fresco identified as Triumph of Divina Sapientia (divine wisdom). Then in 1631 Pietro da Cortona's coworkers, Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, Giacinto Gimignani, and Pietro Paolo Baldini painted the adjacent chapel, which was consecrated to the crucified Christ (Cappella del Crocifisso). That patronage explains the chapel's christological program and Pietro da Cortona's altar fresco of the Crucifixion.