Uffizi Gallery, Florence - description of the museum

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Florence is a special city even in Italy, a country rich in sights of world importance. The whole atmosphere is saturated with history, the great masters of the Renaissance used to walk here. The paths of Michelangelo and Leonardo could cross on the streets of Florence (such a meeting could easily end in a temperamental skirmish, the artists clashed, and only time could reconcile them). Dante liked to meditate on a stone that once stood on Duomo Square (unfortunately, this boulder has not been preserved, which is a pity, but everyone here knows the place where it stood). Savonarol's sermons also took place on these streets.

The real pearl of Florence is the Uffizi Gallery, which has collected many great masterpieces of art.

Florence and her patrons

Florence, unlike many ancient cities, has always been built according to plan, this city is initially alien to randomness. The constant improvement of buildings, streets and squares has become the goal of many creators of architectural ensembles. Of course, such an attitude to the appearance of the city is not without serious material costs, but money matters, asthe rule was not. The richest Florentine families Alberti, Strozzi and many others spared no expense in trying to create a beautiful frame for this pearl of Tuscany, and at the same time immortalize their names.

The Medici, whose ancestors were doctors, became prosperous bankers in the middle of the fifteenth century. Their donations were especially generous, and the collection of paintings and sculpture formed the basis of the future great museum, which Italy is proud of. The Uffizi Gallery was founded by the Medici.

Construction of the city administration building

In 1559, one of the Medicis, Cosimo I (the Elder), who ruled the city at that time, decided to create a centralized governing body and gather the entire administration in one building. He was not a very scholarly person, although he sincerely revered art, but he came to the idea of creating a gallery later.

Interestingly, the sculptures that marked the beginning of the collection were rejected by the Vatican, and therefore donated by Pius V to Francis the First. It was not the artistic merits of the works that aroused the claims of the church leadership, but the fact that the statues depicted naked characters, this seemed sinful. At first, all these treasures were kept in the family in the Riccardi Palace, which served as the Medici family castle.

Meanwhile, in 1560, the design of a spacious palazzo began, entrusted to the famous architect Vasari. The demolition of many buildings was supposed, and their fragments were allowed to be used to build a new palace. The word "Uffii" is translated from Italian as "offices" (plural).

Architectural projects

The matter dragged on, in 1574 the master died, and Buontalenti had to complete the construction, who completed the task a year later. By this time, the purpose of the building had already changed, but the name remained the same, the Uffizi Gallery. Florence was enriched by the works created by the great masters and collected by the Medici family, but at first only representatives of the nobility could enjoy them. For ten years, the building continued to be completed; in the end, the palace turned out to be horseshoe-shaped in plan, with a view of the river from the windows of the narrow side. The architects did not raise their hand to destroy some ancient buildings (the old Mint and the Cathedral of San Pietro Sceragio), and they entered the general ensemble. At that time, both structures were already four centuries old.

Gallery formation

Already by the end of construction, Vasari (and he was an artist, and not just an architect) was aware that he was building not a palace for the city administration, but a gallery. The Uffizi was opened in the sixteenth century, and the architect's perspective decisions contributed to the most favorable lighting conditions for the future exhibition. In 1737, according to the will of Cardinal Leopoldo, the last of the Medici family, the entire family collection became the property of the city of Florence. A century later, the museum became public. At the same time, in the thirties of the eighteenth century, the first inventory of the collection was compiled, which took ten volumes.

Self-portraits

The Uffizi Gallery has collected manyself-portraits, both ancient and modern, by which you can study the era. The basis of this collection was a series of works bought by Leopold de' Medici, who served as a cardinal, from the Roman Academy of St. Luke, and then it was regularly replenished. The first floor of the building became the place of the portrait painting exposition. Thanks to this collection, modern people can get an idea of the appearance and characters of the great painters, Italian (including da Vinci, Titian, Veronese, Romano, Raphael, Michelangelo) and from other countries (Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velasquez, Van Dyck and Karl Bryullov). By the way, about Bryullov. His admirers were W alter Scott and Commuci, they admired The Last Day of Pompeii, a painting that made a splash in Italy even before the triumph in St. Petersburg.

But Giotto, Caravaggio, and many other glorious names are also represented…

Uffizi Tribune

There is a special door in the gallery, upholstered in leather and cloth, leading to the central exposition called the Tribune. The hall is not very large, illuminated by a glass lantern in the roof and contains the most outstanding works, including sculptures and paintings from different eras and schools. In the center of the eight-walled room stands Venus surrounded by dancing fauns and Apollo. There is also a sculpture of a stern slave sharpening a knife. Two more Venuses, this time picturesque, belong to the brush of Titian. It is believed that the Tribune contains the best that the Uffizi Gallery has to offer: Raphael's paintings "Madonna with a Goldfinch", "Portrait of Pope Julius II" and "John the Baptist". Here and"The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli, and several works that reveal the biblical theme of the worship of the Magi (Ghirlandaio and Leonardo da Vinci), but the real gem is the "Holy Family" of the titan of the Renaissance by Michelangelo.

Uffizi losses

Italy has experienced many upheavals and wars over the centuries, in which not only people died, but also works of art. Many times the Uffizi Gallery also suffered losses. Florence was in the path of the Napoleonic armies. The collection was damaged and partially looted during the hostilities that took place in 1943, when the Nazis occupied the country, trying to prevent the advance of the Allied forces. Then, after the explosion of the city water supply, the lower floor was partially flooded. The terrorists who killed five people with a bomb in 1993 and damaged the priceless works of art in the Niobe Hall added trouble. Some frescoes could not be restored.

Tips for visitors

Before you visit this wonderful meeting, it's good to get some information about what the rules are and where the Uffizi Gallery is located. Photography and filming in the halls, as in most museums, is prohibited. This is not a whim of the administration, but a completely rational measure required to ensure the safety of the paintings. The day off here is Monday, on any other days the doors are friendly open from half past nine in the morning until seven in the evening, but it’s better to come early, there are a lot of visitors, and queues form, in which you have to stand for at least an hour (and sometimes much more).longer). There are fewer people in winter. The entrance ticket costs 9 euros and 10 cents, but on the birthday everyone can enter for free. The same applies to the beautiful half of humanity, but only on International Women's Day on March 8 (it is also celebrated here).

You shouldn't take any drinks with you, they won't let you in. Skip-the-line tour offers from some enterprising guides should be ignored. The group gathers for a long time, and it will take no less time than standing in line, and the costs will increase significantly. It's better to book your visit online, you only have to wait twenty minutes, the extra charge is 4 euros, but you can't be late.

It's best to leave a backpack at the hotel, they won't let you in with it, and the queue for the luggage storage is almost the same as for a ticket. The Uffizi Gallery kindly offers for 8 euros a very handy thing called an audio guide. To take it, you need a deposit, any document with a photo.

And don't aim to see everything in one visit. It's just not possible. If there is not enough time for a multiple visit, it is better to focus on the most interesting direction in art, the Uffizi Gallery is rich in them. Reviews of acquaintances and friends who have been here will help in this.

How to find?

The museum complex is easy to find, it is enough for any local passer-by to say two words: “Uffizi Gallery”. The address is simple, Uffizi Square, Uffizi Palace. In fact, it is correct to say three words in Italian: “Galleria degli Uffizi”, but they will understand it that way. It is in the very center of the city, on the one hand the Ponte Vecchio bridge, on the other Piazza Senoria. The largest Florentine museum is located on the Arno River.