- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
1 review for Uffizi Museum
First to say, of course, the address is Piazza della 6, Firenze ( Florence ), ITALY. But Yelp would not accept the address.
Oh, where to begin. This is my favorite Art Museum, in the world. I have been there twice and after getting lost in slowly devouring each room and piece of Art and not even realizing that an entire day had passed, my husband learned to bring a book, for our second visit.
Over more than four centuries, the history of the Uffizi collections intersected with that of Florentine civilization.
The original nucleus of the gallery was formed by the first Medici collections, but a vocation for artistic patronage characterized many of the rulers of Florence - none more than the Medici - during the course of the centuries.
As early as the Trecento, forms of patronage took place thanks to the greater power acquired by the guilds: the Arte del Cambio commissioned Andrea Orcagna to execute the Triptych of St Matthew for the guild oratory of Orsanmichele, the Arte della Mercanzia had a series of Virtues. carried out by Piero Pollaiolo and by Botticelli for the Sala delle Udienze of the guild palace.
During the early Quattrocento, the extremely rich and cultured Palla Strozzi, commissioned Gentile da Fabriano to create the Adoration.
Cosimo I himself was the patron of original artists like Fra Filippo Lippi and commissioned works of considerable moral and political significance such as The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello.
In the following century, the merchant, Angelo Doni, commissioned Michelangelo to carry out his famous painting The Holy Family with the Child St John (or Doni Tondo), while Raphael painted The Madonna of the Goldfinch for Lorenzo Nasi, another merchant.
The Collections grew through the addition of new pieces some of which had been received as marriage gifts or inherited from the grand dukes.
Thus Ferdinando I received Caravaggio's Medusa as a gift from Cardinal Del Monte, and, in the 17th century, Ferdinando II came into possession, through his wife Vittoria della Rovere, of the diptych by Piero della Francesca and The Venus of Urbino by Tiziano.
During the 18th century, in particular during the grand duchy of Pietro Leopoldo (1765-1790), more antique paintings were purchased and the nucleus of French painting was formed.
The Uffizi gallery was built in 1581, under the request of Granduca Francisco de' Medici, son of Cosimo I. The original design was that of Giorgio Vasari, one of the leading painters and architects during the 15th century. His plan for this museum was quite a strategically planned building as it was constructed adjacent to the Medici Palace and extended until the Arno river, over the Ponte Vecchio bridge. The space was originally intended for offices and to host bureaucratic meetings for various magistrates as apposed to holding masterpieces as it is today. It was built rapidly despite minor difficulties and major social events taking place in the area (ie: the marriage of Francisco and the Giovanna of Austria).
There is controversy as to when it was built and the reason is the Uffizi Gallery, traces its origins to 1560 when Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned Giorgio Vasari to plan a large palace with two wings, on the river and almost in the air, to house the Florentine State's administrative and judicial offices (known as "Uffizi").
Vasari was also responsible for the building, five years later, of an overhead corridor passing above Ponte Vecchio and the Church of Santa Felicit, to link the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace, the new residence of the Medici family, ending in the Boboli Gardens.
The true nucleus of the gallery, however, was created by Francis I, Cosimo's son, who, after transforming the top floor of the Uffizi into a place where one could stroll, with paintings, statues and other objects of value, commissioned Buontalenti to create a gallery to hold furnishings and works of art.
The same architect was responsible for the Medici Theatre, built in 1586 in the section that is now the first and second floors of the east wing of the museum.
In 1589, Ferdinando I, Francis' brother, had the terrace near the Gallery roofed and closed; it later became the Loggia of the Maps. At the end of the other wing of the gallery is a hanging garden created above the Loggia dell'Orcagna.
The Uffizi now house a huge artistic heritage consisting of thousands of paintings from medieval to modern times, a great number of antique sculptures, illuminations, and tapestries.
It is also famous for its collection of self-portraits, which constantly grew through new acquisitions and donations of contemporary artists, as well as for another remarkable collection, that of the Cabinet
The Uffizi today, houses great Masterpieces and works of Art from the 15th Century to the 20th Century.
People thought this was:
- Useful (6)
- Funny (4)
- Cool (6)