Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani (13 September 1564 - 27 December 1637) was an aristocratic Italian banker, art collector and intellectual of the late 16th/early 17th centuries, known today largely for the Giustiniani art collection and for his patronage of the artist Caravaggio. September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... Events March 27 — Naples bans kissing in public under the penalty of death June 22 — Fort Caroline, the first French attempt at colonizing the New World September 10 — The Battle of Kawanakajima Ottoman Turks invade Malta Modern pencil becomes common in England Conquistadors crossed the Pacific Spanish founded a colony... December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (362nd in leap years). ... Events February 3 - Tulipmania collapses in Netherlands by government order February 15 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor December 17 - Shimabara Rebellion erupts in Japan Pierre de Fermat makes a marginal claim to have proof of what would become known as Fermats last theorem. ... Caravaggio painted by Ottavio Leoni around 1621. ...

Vincenzo's father Giuseppe Giustiniani had been the last Genoese ruler of the Aegean island of Chios, which had been a family possession for centuries. In 1566 the island was lost to the Turks, and Vincenzo and his elder brother Benedetto were taken by their father to Rome, where an uncle was already a cardinal. Giuseppe Giustiniani became a banker, and by the time of his death in 1600 was financier to the Vatican and one of the richest men in Rome. Vincenzo followed his father into the family business, while Benedetto entered the Church and became a cardinal himself by 1587. Both brothers were keen supporters of art, and the collection they established became one of the most important in its age. On Vincenzo's death - Benedetto died in 1621 - it contained over 300 paintings (15 by Caravaggio) and more than 1200 pieces of sculpture, and the various catalogues constitute an invaluable resource for early 17th century art. The collection itself was broken up at the beginning of the 19th century, when the king of Prussia acquired over 160 paintings, the most important of which were destined for museums in Berlin. Today the Berlin Gemäldegalerie houses 43 paintings from the Giustinani collection while other works are to be found in Potsdam’s Neues Palais and Bildergalerie Sanssouci. Further examples can be seen in the National Gallery, London, the Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. More paintings from the collection have been traced to collections and museums in Europe and the United States. The Gemäldegalerie is one of the worlds leading collections of European art from the 13th to 18th century. ... The South or Garden facade and corps de logis of Sanssouci Sanssouci is a palace in Potsdam, Germany. ... The National Gallery from Trafalgar Square The National Gallery is an art gallery in London, located on the north side of Trafalgar Square. ... The State Hermitage Museum (Государственный Эрмитаж) in St. ... Kunsthistorisches Museum at Maria-Theresien-Platz, Vienna. ...

Vincenzo followed interests in many other fields, writing essays in architecture, music, and art, as well as on such practical matters as hunting, travel, and horse trading. A friend and neighbour of Caravaggio's first patron, cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, he extended his own friendship to the artist, purchasing Saint Matthew and the Angel when it was rejected by church officals for its perceived lack of decorum. Francesco Maria Del Monte (5 July 1549 - 27 August 1627, full name Francesco Maria Bourbon Del Monte) was a leading prelate of the Catholic Church, diplomat and connoisseur of the arts. ... Saint Matthew and the Angel (1602) is a painting from the Italian master Caravaggio (1571-1610), completed for the Contarelli Chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. ...

Sources

The virtual Giustiniani Collection

References

• Peter Robb, M (1998)

ISBN 0312274742

ISBN 0747548587