Galleria degli Uffizi

The history

In the second half of the 16th century, Grand Duke Cosimo I decided to have a building constructed next to Palazzo Vecchio with the aim of bringing together, and closely monitoring, the 13 main magistracies of Florence. The Uffizi Gallery, which owes its name precisely to the offices of these city institutions, was therefore built between 1560 and 1580 according to the design of Giorgio Vasari, the official architect of the Medici court and one of the very first art historians. The top floor, originally occupied by a loggia, was windowed and used as a private gallery by Grand Duke Francesco I in 1581 and has housed the extraordinary Medici collection ever since.

The collection

The Uffizi Gallery boasts one of the largest and most extraordinary collections of works of art, from antiquity to the modern age, and is considered one of the most important museums in the world today. Among its corridors, adorned with Greek and Roman statues from the Medici family’s collection, we find marvellous works ranging from the 1200s to the early 1800s. Today, the Gallery occupies the entire first and second floors of the historic palace and boasts numerous masterpieces by many of the artists who have made history. To name but a few, here we can admire works by Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Piero della Francesca, Sandro Botticelli, Caravaggio, Giotto as well as Dürer, Rubens, Van der Goes and Rembrandt.

Although the original nucleus is represented by the works of the historic Medici collection, over the centuries the inventory has expanded considerably to include religious works acquired from convents and monasteries, as well as works owned by the later Lorraine dynasty. Together with the main collection, the building also houses the stupendous Contini Bonaccossi Collection, the Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe, an immense collection of graphic arts begun by Leopoldo de’ Medici in 1687, and the Vasarian Corridor, the historic covered walkway that allowed the family to travel undisturbed between Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti and that today houses a splendid collection of self-portraits.

The artworks

Painting

• Virgin and Child enthroned, surrounded by angels and saints (Ognissanti Maestà), 1300-1305 circa, Giotto (1267-1337)
• Lamentation over the Dead Christ, 1303-1305 circa, Giotto di maestro Stefano, detto Giottino (documentato a Firenze nel 1368 e a Roma nel 1369)
• Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus, 1333, Simone Martini (1284 circa-1344) e Lippo Memmi (documentato dal 1317-1347)
• The Duke and Duchess of Urbino Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza, 1473-1475 circa, Piero della Francesca (1412-1492)
• The Spring, 1480, Sandro Botticelli (1445 – 1510)
• Adoration of the Magi, 1482 circa, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
• Birth of Venus, 1485 circa, Sandro Botticelli (1445 – 1510)
• Holy Family, known as the “Doni Tondo”, 1505-1506, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
• Mary, Christ and the young John the Baptist, known as the “Madonna of the Goldfinch”, within febbraio 1506, Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520)
• Angel playing the lute, 1521, Giovanni Battista di Jacopo, detto Rosso Fiorentino (1495-1540)
• Supper at Emmaus, 1525, Jacopo Carucci, detto il Pontormo (1494-1552)
• Portrait of Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni, 1545 circa, Agnolo di Cosimo Tori detto Bronzino (Firenze 1503-1572)
• Bacchus, 1596-1597, Michelangelo Merisi, detto il Caravaggio (1571-1610)

Sculpture

• Medici Venus, Hellenist art (Late 2nd century B. C. – Early 1st century B. C.)
• Gaddi Torso, Greek art (1st century b. C.)
• Wrestlers, Roman art (First century A..)
• Pomona, 1941, Marini Marino (1901-1980)

The artists

• Giotto (1267-1337)
• Simone Martini (1284 circa-1344)
• Piero della Francesca (1412-1492)
• Van der Goes (1440-1482)
• Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510)
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
• Dürer (1471-1528)
• Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
• Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520)
• Jacopo Carucci, said il Pontormo (1494-1552)
• Rosso Fiorentino (1495-1540)
• Agnolo di Cosimo Tori said Bronzino (Firenze 1503-1572)
• Caravaggio (1571-1610)
• Rubens (1577-1640)
• Rembrandt (1606-1669)

Photo: Niobe room, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence