Federico Barocci (1535-1612) has always held a special place in studies of the patronage of Filippo Neri's Roman Congregation of the Oratory. The problem is how to quantify the affinity between artist and patron without slipping into zeitgeist historicism. A close chronological examination of documents surrounding Barocci's commissions to Oratorians and other patrons like Cardinal Federico Borromeo and Pope Clement VIII shows a coordinated effort within a larger orbit.