Description of the attraction
The Uffizi is one of the most famous art galleries in the world. Here is a vast panorama of the various schools of painting. This is the Florentine school, and the Venetian, and other Italian schools, as well as a rich selection of Flemish paintings with a famous series of self-portraits. In addition to painting, the gallery has rooms dedicated to antique sculpture and rooms with a rich collection of tapestries.
Museum building
The building of the Uffizi Gallery was commissioned by the Medici family by the architect Giorgio Vasari and was originally intended for administrative purposes. Construction began in 1560 and ended 20 years later.
The building consists of two buildings with loggias on the ground floor. In the depths, both buildings are connected by a third building with a huge arcade overlooking the embankment of the Arno River. Below, on both sides of the central courtyard, niches are formed in powerful pylons, in which are placed statues of the 19th century depicting famous figures of Tuscany. The second floor is cut by huge windows, and the third is a vast loggia. In addition to the Art Gallery, which occupies the third floor, the building houses the State Archives, where rare documents on the history of the city are kept, as well as the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints, which displays a unique collection, which began in the 17th century on the initiative of Cardinal Leopold Medici.
Since 1737, the museum has become the property of the people, after Anna Maria Ludovica - the last representative of the Medici family - donated it to the city.
The museum collection is located on the top floor of the building. Greek and Roman sculptures are displayed in spacious hallways. Picturesque canvases hang in chronological order, which allows us to trace the history of the development of Florentine art from the time of Byzantium to the High Renaissance and beyond.
Uffizi Gallery Collection
The Uffizi Gallery is known for the most complete collection of paintings from all periods of the Italian Renaissance, from the famous painting for the altar, "Madonna Onisanti" by the reformer of church painting Giotto di Bondone, presented in room 2. One of the few woodworks - "The Coronation of Mary" by Fra Beato Angelico (Giovanni Fiesole), a Florentine monk master of fresco painting, continues the exhibition from the early Renaissance period.
In the 8th room by maestro Filippo Lippi, you will see the work "Madonna and Child with an Angel", written with the artist's beloved, "The Feeding of Mary" with a self-portrait of the master in the image of a monk. These canvases differ significantly from the works of their predecessors in the liveliness of images and palette.
Halls 10-14 are dedicated to the works of Sandro Botticelli. The well-known paintings "The Birth of Venus" and "Spring", written for Lorenzo Medici, are full of symbolism and innovations of the time. For example, the shell, meaning fertility, was transferred by Botticelli himself into church symbolism as a sign of purity, and the veils of Venus were a characteristic shade of ritual veils. Golden fruits in the spring garden are the heraldic symbols of the Medici family. The artist used new technologies for creating paints and protective coatings for paintings, thanks to which the canvases have survived to this day in good condition.
Hall 15 is dedicated to the great Leonardo da Vinci. The early work of Leonardo - "Annunciation" was created in the years 1472-1475 in the workshop and under the guidance of the teacher Verrocchio. It is believed that da Vinci's brush belongs to the Angel blessing Mary. Also, the work of Leonardo da Vinci - the blond angel from the painting by Andrea Verrocchio "The Baptism of Christ" refers to the period of discipleship. The unfinished work "Adoration of the Magi", ordered for the monastery of Santo Donato in Sopeto, was left by the master a year later, in connection with the move from Florence to Milan. Against the background of the ruins of a pagan temple, the Virgin Mary with a baby is depicted, surrounded by respectfully bowed Magi. The central part of the oil on wood painting is left free, which creates the effect of participation in the action for the viewer.
The Holy Family, the only work by Michelangelo Buonarotti, completely finished and preserved to this day, is presented in the 25th room of the gallery. Made by young Michelangelo by order of the newlyweds Agnolo and Maddalena Doni in the form of a round painting in the Kanjiante technique, conveying the sculptural graphics of bodies. The rich palette of the canvas traces the trends of future color solutions for the painting of the Sistine Chapel.
In the numerous rooms of the Uffizi Gallery you can see the unique works of Ambrogio and Piero Lorenzetti, Simone Martini, The Adoration of the Magi by Lorenzo Monaco, Genitile da Fabiano and Sandro Botticelli, the works of Pietro and Antonio del Polaiolo, Venus of Urbino by Titian, masterpieces by Reggio Cimabue and many others.
Be sure to visit the sculptural corridor dedicated to the Medici family, view the ancient Greek and Roman sculptures of rulers and mythical creatures.
Separate rooms are devoted to foreign art: German painting (among others - the works of Albrecht Durer), Spanish (El Greco, Goya, Velazquez), French painting (Lorrain, Charles Le Bre), Flemish painting (Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt). On the ground floor, you can see the remains of an ancient church destroyed during the construction of the gallery.
Between halls 25 and 34 there is a wooden door leading to the continuation of the museum - about 700 paintings are housed in this corridor.
Separately, you may be interested in a collection of self-portraits of Russian and European artists - Kustodiev, Aivazovsky, Ivanov, Kiprensky, specially collected for the Uffizi Gallery.
On a note
- Location: Piazzale degli Uffizi, 6, Firenze
- Official website:
- Opening hours: every day, except Monday, in the summer - from 8.30 to 22.00, in the winter - from 8.30 to 19.00. On Sunday, the museum closes at 14:00.
- Tickets: ticket price - 7 euros.
