Francesco Maria Sforza Pallavicino (1607-1667) Italian cardinal and historian

Location

Country: Holy See
City: Vatican City
Place: British Embassy

Cardinal Pietro Sforza Pallavicini is known for his theological and literary works, particularly his refutation of Paolo Sarpi’s History of the Council of Trent. Sarpi’s account of the Council (1545–1563) convened to address the claims of Protestantism was held to be hostile, and Pallavicini was directed by the Pope himself to write a refutation. Pallavicini resigned his professorship of theology at the Collegium Romanum in 1651 to devote himself to the writing of this work. The first editions of his History of the Council of Trent were published in two volumes in 1656 and 1657, and a new edition in three volumes was brought out in 1664. Pallavicini’s reputation would have been well established by the time this portrait was painted in 1663. 

Pallavicini studied philosophy and theology and in 1637 he entered the Society of Jesus, or Jesuit order, one of the main movers in the Counter Reformation. After two years as a novitiate, he was made professor of philosophy at the Collegium Romanum. When John de Lugo (1583–1660) was made cardinal in 1643, Pallavicini, his pupil and friend, took over his chair of theology. He published a number of works before beginning the History of the Council of Trent, including a refutation of the claims made against the Jesuit order (1649) and a major dogmatic work (published in nine volumes between 1649 and 1652). He was made a cardinal in 1657 but continued his simple way of life and remained loyal to the Jesuit order.

People

Francesco Maria Sforza Pallavicino (1607 - 1677)

Places

Subjects

male portrait, beard, moustache, Italian, man, 17th century costume, robe, biretta, cardinal

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Giovanni Maria Morandi (attributed to) (1622 - 1717)

Title

Francesco Maria Sforza Pallavicino (1607-1667) Italian cardinal and historian

Date

1663

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 72.50 cm, width: 62.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from the British Museum, June 1946.

Inscription

tc: CARD SFORZA PALLAVICINUS 1663

Provenance

Collection of antiquary Smart Lethieullier (1701-1760); by whom presented to British Museum on 3 May 1760; from whom purchased by the Ministry of Works in 1946

GAC number

23