Uffizi Gallery

Faces Unveiled

2012-01-16T14:03:02Z

From 15 December 2011 to 29 January 2012, in the Sala delle Reali Poste, the Uffizi hosts the eleventh edition of the "Never Seen Before" cycle with the Faces Unveiled exhibition, organised and promoted by the Friends of the Uffizi (responsible for the major contribution made for the restorations carried out for the occasion) in liaison with the Uffizi Gallery.

Curated by Fabrizio Paolucci, Director of the Department of Classical Antiquities at the Uffizi Gallery, and Valentina Conticelli, Director of the Eighteenth-century Art Department at the Uffizi Gallery, the exhibition celebrates this new appointment of the Never Seen Before by restoring to public enjoyment a central segment of the collection of classical sculptures belonging to the grand-ducal collections: that of the portraits of emperors and private citizens which have always been displayed at intervals along the corridors of the exhibition itinerary.

The exhibition brings back to light and allows the public to view 44 busts composing the series of the "Caesars in marble", the finest and most important portraits of the unseen collection of the Uffizi. Presented alongside the selection of busts are 23 works (paintings and drawings), portraits and self-portraits that illustrate how great the interest in the antique was among the artists, while at the same time also revealing direct references to the heads themselves.

Vasari Corridor 2012 Openings Announced

2012-01-16T13:52:58Z

The Vasari Corridor will be open this year - at least this winter and spring, as just announced on the official website of the Uffizi.

You can find more information, details, and options in English on Florence-On-Line (the Uffizi has yet to upload an English version and their page is "Under Construction as we write): Vasari Corridor Reservations and Tickets.

Vasari, the Uffizi and the Duke

2011-12-13T08:50:23Z

The exhibit has been extended until January 8th - there is a review of the exhibit from the Financial Times here.

On the fifth centenary of the birth of Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), this exhibition is devoted to the foundation of the Uffizi (1559-1560): more than a building, an architectural system on urban scale that emerged from the close collaboration between the Duke, Cosimo I de' Medici, and Vasari, his favourite artist. Standing in the heart of the city, where it reflects the absolutist and centralising policy of Cosimo I, the complex was designed to bring together the administrative institutions of government, the so-called Magistrature and the Guilds, subjecting them - logistically and symbolically - to the direct rule of the young Duke.

The memory of this original destination lives on in the name of the Uffizi, literally "offices". The ingenious versatility of the Arezzo-born Vasari was displayed in his capacity to give spatial form and architectural conviction to his commissioner's political programme and desire for self-representation. The building is in fact an emblematic fragment of a new city, sealing into a single organism the two ducal residences of Palazzo Vecchio (the seat of government) and the Pitti Palace beyond the Arno, impressing upon the city the physical presence of Power in the shape of architecture.

The long colonnaded piazza of the Uffizi also functions as an authentic open-air antechamber leading into both Piazza della Signoria, with its whirl of statues celebrating the Duke, and into Palazzo Vecchio where the rooms renovated and redecorated by Vasari celebrate the apotheosis of Cosimo and his dynasty. The architectural structure of the Uffizi, which was without paragon in the sixteenth-century world and was destined to become a model, was crowned at the top by a long loggia which, when construction was complete, came to house precious antique statues from the Medici collections. This secondary and almost incidental use then developed over the centuries into the collection and display functions that now characterise the Uffizi, the epitome of the art museum.

The exhibition, which takes as its cue the personalities of the protagonists - the Duke and his artist - starts by training the spotlight on the urban layout of the area between Palazzo Vecchio and the Arno prior to the construction of the Uffizi; it then goes on to illustrate the phases of design and construction of the complex, which was the most extensive and most demanding building site of sixteenth-century Florence. The spatial and figurative connotations of the monumental complex are underscored, comprising the wooden doors of the Magistrates' offices.

The formal and typological elements drew inspiration from the antique Roman architecture well known to Vasari and to the erudite humanists of his circle, including Paolo Giovio and Vincenzo Borghini, but also from the contemporary architecture of both Venice and Rome, where the artist had frequently sojourned. The highly-organised building site, masterfully controlled by the military architect Bernardo Puccini, is evoked here by the working tools of the time, alongside finds only recently discovered after having been buried for centuries in the infill of the vaults. Beyond all this, the Uffizi was also the mature fruit of an exuberant artistic milieu polarised by the court, looming over which was the terrible magnificence of the genius of Michelangelo. Gravitating around it were lead roles and supporting players: Pierfrancesco Riccio, major-domo to the Duke, Luca Martini, Cosimo Bartoli and Benedetto Varchi, who are also evoked in the exhibition.

This was a competitive ambience, which held aloof from and challenged Vasari as a provincial from Arezzo, up to his triumphal entry into the service of the Duke in 1554. These two phases of rejection and acceptance are illustrated in the exhibition by the works of the artists who hampered Vasari's admittance and those who fostered it, unfurling a dense artistic and cultural weft that marked the apex of the flowering of the Florentine Renaissance, emblematically illustrated by the legendary pomp of the wedding of Prince Francesco and Joanna of Austria (1565), the inaugural ceremony for the as yet unfinished Uffizi complex.

The artistic consolidation of Vasari, which went hand-in-hand with his political legitimisation, was driven not only by his artistic activity, but also by his work as a historian, boosted by the foundation of the Accademia del Disegno. The two editions of his Lives of the Artists (1550 and 1568), which brought the enterprising provincial a fame that went beyond the confines of the Duchy, are on display alongside his sonnets, letters and drawings, together with the statutes of the Accademia behind which he was the driving force.

]]> Idea
Claudia Conforti

Promoters
Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali
Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culrturali e Paesaggistici della Toscana
Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Firenze
Galleria degli Uffizi
Firenze Musei
Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze

Curated by
Claudia Conforti, Francesca Funis,
Francesca de Luca, Antonio Godoli

Exhibition Direction
Antonio Natali

Catalogue
Giunti Editore

Ticket prices:
Full price: € 11.00 reduced: € 5.50 From 8.15 am until 4.00 pm
Full price: € 10.00 reduced: € 5.00 From 4.00 pm

Hours
Open Tuesday to Sunday 8,15 - 18,50
The ticket office closes at 18.20
Closed Monday

How and where to enter the Uffizi Gallery

2011-11-21T15:54:08Z

Until the construction of the "New Uffizi" (but certainly not because of it - this situation has been in place for awhile!) is complete, the following outlines how to enter the Uffizi - if you have a ticket reserved, if you need to buy your tickets, if you are a "Friend of The Uffizi", if you purchased the Firenze Card, etc.

There are 3 doors you need to know about, and they are all on the Piazza degli Uffizi. See the image/map to the right for the layout. They are described in more detail below.

Door Number 1 is the entrance if you already have a reservation and have picked up your ticket, or are part of a group, tour, school trip, etc. If you are facing the building the left side of the entrance is for groups, and the right side is for individuals, families, etc. This is also the entrance you want to use if you have the Firenze Card in your possession (which means you usually beat any lines also). You should show up here 10 minutes before your timed reservation (who knows why in a country where being late is a perpetual state). You do not need a time with the Firenze Card, but you may have to wait a little bit to enter - I wouldn't think more than 10 minutes or so (this may not be the case in high season, but still any wait here will be shorter than the general admission line).

Door Number 2 is the main entrance, and also the place where the line starts if you are buying a ticket for that day. The line goes down the arcade toward the Arno. It can be quite a wait. If you ever plan to visit without a reservation or a Firenze Card or Friends of the Uffizi card etc., the best advice is to go later in the day. For most of the year, from Spring until mid-November, there is a line here of some length (in the summer it is hours long), but it is ALWAYS longer in the AM, especially on weekends.

At this same door you will usually see the ropes aligned that allow a small space to enter on the left hand side - this is the office for the Friends of The Uffizi where you can buy the card. Note however that even if some signs say you enter at door number 1 with the Friends of The Uffizi card, I have always had to enter at door number 2 (the guard will allow you to cut the line when you show him your card) and then get a "Free" ticket by showing the card and ID. This is serious - make sure you have picture ID if you plan on using the Friends of The Uffizi card, for adults and children. I had a nasty (and I must say the only one I ever had in Florence) tourism experience here once when someone in the ticket booth seemed to think I was taking the ID request for my children too lightly, which I wasn't. I just had entered with them several times prior and was never asked for their IDs, so when I was and didn't respond formally I was treated rather rudely.

Door Number 3, which is across the Piazza degli Uffizi on the west side or wing, is where you may pick up your tickets if you have made a prior reservation. They ask you only do this 10 minutes before your reserved entrance time, I guess to try to keep the line down. Another thing to note - there are many, many ways to reserve a timed entrance ticket to the Uffizi - and some of them are just that - reservations (which you pay extra for) and not the ticket itself. So make sure you are prepared depending on who or what service you used. You may have to pay additionally for the ticket if all you paid for upfront was the reservation. Not sure why but I know some tourists that can not get their heads around this fact!

So that is basically it. Things can change, and there are always various paper notes taped to any of these signs on any day, but usually the staff outside of doors 1 and 2 (who usually are not in uniform but have ID around their neck) are very helpful and speak English if you get confused.

The official site for tickets and reservations, sanctioned by the Uffizi, is b-ticket. There have been various reports on other websites of the b-ticket site not working with certain credit cards, etc. but also many more that say it does. You can also call their phone number if you need to. Remember the museum is closed on Mondays all year round.

For guided tours of the Uffizi we suggest browsing the many options on Viator from our sister site Florence Journal - there are several variations and price options.

Please remember that this advice is given for informational purposed only and is subject to change at any time!

Francesco Clemente at the Uffizi

2011-09-14T13:05:14Z

da/from 9 Sep 11 fino a/until 6 Nov 11

Prints and Drawings Department of the Uffizi

Francesco Clemente. The Tarot

The interest of the Uffizi Prints and Drawings Department in the contemporary dates back to its very origins, in other words the mid-17th century. In effect, alongside the works of the Renaissance period, which were appreciated largely for their historic value, Cardinal Leopoldo through his own interests as a collector, and Filippo Baldinucci in the role of first curator and organiser of the collection, both revealed an intrigued systematic and constant attention towards the "moderns", who were at this time the artists of the Baroque period. The same can be said of the periods that followed, which explains the chronological continuity of the graphic works present in the collection.

Without aspiring to a complete planning of contemporary acquisitions, which are entrusted above all to the qualified generosity of donations, the GDSU is still today open towards living artists and those who lived in the century just ended. This explains why it welcomes in its own modern, albeit already "historic" spaces, a sequence of display initiatives that alternate the so-called Old Masters with presences and narrations that have the value of absolute modernity.

It is within this framework of institutional vocation that we can place the exhibition addressed to Francesco Clemente (Naples 1952) who, perhaps precisely in an awareness of the complex and stratified artistic tradition of this site, has chosen to express his unmistakable creative vein at the Uffizi by addressing a topic as ancient as that of the Tarot.

The drawings, executed in different parts of the world - including Naples, New York, India and New Mexico - call to mind the private places of Clemente, but also the global and collective geography which each of us is experiencing, at least virtually. And the portraits of the exponents of a cosmopolitan cultural community, inserted into the allegorical illustrations of the Astral bodies, the Virtues and the Triumphs, bring together the new and the old continents in a play of glances orchestrated by the artist, who portrays himself in the arcana of the Fool. Alongside the Tarot, twelve canvases in the Sala del Camino featuring the same number of self-portraits of Clemente in the garb of Apostle, continue the mesh of temporal cross-references between the figurative of the past and that of one of the numerous possible presents.

Uffizi Touch for iPhone and iPad

2011-05-17T10:30:47Z

The Uffizi Touch® App (for iPhone and iPad) is available now on the iTunes App Store! This is an amazing app, and while there is still a little work to do around the edges (which will be coming in updates), you can't get anything similar or better - all of the works in the Uffizi, over 1,200 images, in super high resolution (when connected to WiFi). With no connection you still get all the works, plus the text to go with them, making this an indispensable app to have on your iPhone while visiting the gallery. This is an amazing application and we highly recommend it!

Visiting the Vasari Corridor

2010-06-04T09:40:46Z

The Vasari Corridor, while scheduled to be renovated, has been open the last couple of years on a limited schedule. Publicly available tickets are nearly impossible to come by however, leaving just about the only chance of visiting this historical walkway to private, guided tours.

One such tour is run by a great local Florentine company: florencetown.

They currently offer guided tours (until at least the end of June, 2010 according to their website) every Tuesday and Friday at 3:30 PM.

For more information, availability, or to make an inquiry, visit them at: florencetown.com (you can also find many other tours and activities for Florence and Tuscany on their website).

Friends of The Uffizi

2010-06-04T09:14:39Z

The Friends of The Uffizi (or Amici Degli Uffizi in Italian) is a non-profit group founded in 1993 to support the museum after the terrorist bombing that damaged parts of the Gallery and some of its great artworks (details).

A lesser known fact is that by supporting the association, you can get free admission to a whole host of Florence's greatest museums, as well as not having to make reservations at the Uffizi or Accademia, or waiting in line.

The family membership is the best value - especially if you are spending several days in Florence and want to visit several museums.

The "New Uffizi"

2010-06-03T17:46:24Z

Currently the Uffizi is in the midst of a major transformation. The project is known as the "Nuovi Uffizi" and has been underway since 2006 (if my memory is correct). There are several more years of construction ahead and when complete most of the museum will have been restructured and/or restored.

There is a website dedicated to the project here. We'll also be bringing you news and updates here as things come more into focus.

Caravaggio e caravaggeschi a Firenze

2010-06-03T17:32:00Z

The current special exhibit at the Uffizi is "Caravaggio e caravaggeschi a Firenze" - from May 22nd to October 17th:

"Florence and Caravaggio: sound like a gamble?
Did Caravaggio actually come through Florence?

Did he see, as some would claim, the wonderful botanical watercolours by Jacopo Ligozzi in the Medici collection?

It is certain that he frequented the Palazzo Firenze in Rome whence ambassador Cardinal Del Monte kept on good terms with grand duke Ferdinando I de' Medici. While the other interrogatives remain without answers for the moment, we know that splendid paintings by Caravaggio - the Bacchus and the Medusa - reached the Uffizi already towards the end of the XVI century. Others (two or three) were in time purchased by the Grand Dukes who thus proved to be early and staunch admirers - especially Cosimo II - of the controversial Lombard painter and of his followers and imitators. The presence of important artists in the city such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Battistello Caracciolo and Theodoor Rombouts, and the direct dealings with artists like Gerrit Honthorst, Bartolomeo Manfredi and Jusepe Ribera gave rise to an intense Caravaggesque "season" which left an extraordinary number of paintings at the court and in the city that after Rome still today boasts the largest collection of Caravaggesque paintings in the world. Gerrit Honthorst (who authored the Adoration of the Shepherds, today in the Uffizi Gallery, though heavily damaged by the Via dei Georgofili bombing of 1993) was the protagonist of one of the most important episodes of the fortune of Caravaggesque painting outside of Rome. This was the never completed decoration of the Guicciardini Chapel in the church of Santa Felicita which he was to execute with Cecco del Caravaggio (the Resurrection of Christ, Art Institute of Chicago) and Spadarino and of which, for the first time, the exhibition proposes a virtual reconstruction.

Thanks to the outstanding Florentine legacy of works by Caravaggio, a nucleus of Caravaggesque paintings, and numerous loans, two of the most important state museums of Florence - the Uffizi Gallery and the Palatine Gallery - will host the Caravaggio and Caravaggesque exhibition in Florence, on the occasion of the IV centennial of Caravaggio's death. Forty years after the pioneering exhibition curated by Evelina Borea, the event will be the occasion to present more than one hundred paintings, both famous and less famous, in the light of research, documents and new attributions that have modified the critical panorama and the taste of the public."