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Since Tormo, Gusi and Lafuente wrote fray Juan Rizi's monograph in 1930, and Ángulo & Pérez Sánchez revised years later this study in their book Pintura madrileña del segundo tercio del siglo XVII, very little has been published about the life and work of the Benedictine painter. Furthermore, the Italian journey of Rizi, that involved the last 20 years of his life, has always been an enigma, resolved only in certain aspects, thanks to few news supplied by his biographers and the manuscripts the monk wrote during his staying in the Montecassino abbey. Our recent discovery of 8 new canvases painted by Rizi to decorate the Saints Cosme and Damian's chapel in the main church of Trevi nel Lazio (Frosinone, Italy), as well as the location of several new drawings in the Montecassino and Vatican libraries, will allow us to study his activity as painter in Italy and also to profile, with more accuracy, the history of the last years of his life.

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Se presenta nueva documentación encontrada en el Archivo Secreto Vaticano sobre el envío -desde Madrid a Roma-de algunos retratos realizados por Velazquez para el cardenal Francisco Barberini. Entre éstos un dibujo preparatorio para una imagen del Conde Duque, que el sevillano tenía que pintar según expresas indicaciones dejadas por el cardenal y su secretario Cassiano dal Pozzo en Madrid, en 1626. Asimismo se estudia el breve pontificio concedido en ese año a Velazquez, gracias a la gestión de Barberini ante el Papa, y por el que el pintor pudo disfrutar de un beneficio eclesiástico aun siendo un laico casado y con hijos. Como veremos, todas estas noticias pondrán de manifiesto el interés del Conde Duque por la carrera del pintor, el extraordinario trato de favor que éste recibía durante sus primeros años en el Alcázar, así como su conocida flema a la hora de pintar, que ya se empieza a manifestar, sorprendentemente, desde sus primeros años al servicio de Felipe IV.Palabras clave: Francisco Barberini. Velazquez. Conde Duque Olivares. Pintura española. Siglo xvii.New documents found in the Vatican Secret Archive concerning the shipment from Madrid to Rome of certain portraits painted by Velazquez for Cardinal Francesco Barberini are presented here. Among them is a preparatory drawing for a portrait of the Conde Duque de Olivares, to be painted according to the express indications left by the Cardinal and his secretary Cassiano del Pozzo in Madrid, in 1626. Also examined is the pontificial brief granted Velazquez in that year thanks to Barberini's intervention with the Pope, by which the painter could enjoy an ecclesiastical benefice even though he was a married layman with children. All of this information demonstrates the Conde Duque's interest in promoting the painter's career, the extraordinarily favorable treatment that the Sevillian received during his first years at the Alcázar, and his well-known slowness when it came time to paint, which -surprisingly-already manifested itself during this early period in the service of Felipe IV.Key words: Francesco Barberini. Velazquez. Conde Duque de Olivares. Spanish painting. 17**^ century.* Los autores agradecen a Bill Jordan, Jonathan Brown, Edward Goldberg, Enriqueta Harris y Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, los valiosos consejos recibidos tras haber leído el primer borrador del texto. Asimismo se agradece a Janie Cole la revisión del texto en inglés. «Havendo io pregato il sr. Cardinale Padrone si complácese di lasciarsi ritratarsi a Gio. van der Gumen di Gualdarama (sic), spagnolo naturale di Madrid, che per fare ritratti, fiori e frutti e simili riusciva eccellentemente, havendo visto che il ritratto fatto da Gio. (sic) Velasquez per il sr. Conte d'Olivares riusciva d'aria maliconica e severa, si contento che venisse, e in una mez'hora o poco più lo fece assai bene»^ Con estas conocidas palabras, Cassiano dal Pozzo expresaba su preferencia por el pintor Juan van der Hamen sobre Diego Velazquez, a la hora de hacer un retrato de su señor, el cardenal Francesco Barberini...

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