The Rising of The Uffizi Gallery
- ciara garza
- Jun 6, 2023
- 4 min read
By Ciara Garza
There are many famous types of art that bring people to the great city of Florence: Neptune’s Fountain, the Duomo, and so many more. However, one of the most famous attractions of Florence is the Uffizi Gallery. The Uffizi Gallery is one of the
most important Italian museums in the world. It also has one of the most beautiful art collections in the world. It is the most visited museum in Italy with around 2 million visitors a year. The museum holds artwork from Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, and so many more.
History:
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, architect, and author. He was known for his books about Italian Renaissance artists, art represented by the fresco cycles, and his building of the Uffizi located in Florence and the church, palace, and monastery located in Pisa. From a young age, he has been a huge fan of Michelangelo and that has influenced his art.
In between 1560 and 1580, Giorgio Vasari created the building we know as the Uffizi Gallery. The gallery was built at the request of Cosimo 1 de’ Medici. It was built as an office building for judges, technicians, magistrates, and merchants. Isabella Luccarelli says, “This building was created as a magistrates’ building. They put all offices and corporations in it and then in the 18th century it opened as a museum.”
When Francis 1 de’ Medici became the ruler, he requested that a floor would be added that could store his precious artwork. The building was constructed to have a gallery at the top of the building to hold precious paintings and statues. As the years went by, the amount of art collected on the gallery floor multiplied. In 1769, the Uffizi Gallery changed from being an office building to an art museum.
The museum consists of 93 rooms spread out amongst 3 floors. With a grand staircase dating back to the 1500s leads to the second floor to start the exploration of the gallery. The building’s second floor shows artwork in 45 halls. The artwork represented is from the 13th to 18th century, including artists such as Sandro Botticelli, Antonio del Pollaiuolo, and Palla Strozzi. The building’s first floor is an extension of the second floor. The pathways of the gallery consist of paintings on the ceilings depicting stories and art meaningful representations of people.
The building’s first floor shows famous halls such as “Cabinet of Prints and Drawings”. The artwork represented is nothing compared to the art represented on the 2nd floor, it is the rest of the collection of art from the 2nd floor. It consists of artwork from the 17th to 18th century. Representing artists such as Raphael and Titian. Emma Dorsey says, “The building itself is very large and very well organized-each gallery is very simple yet reminds you of its complicated past because of the original stone floors and brick ceilings.” The organization of the building makes it very clear where everything is and organizes it by dates. It allows a person to find what they are looking for because each room is laid out specifically for that. On the outside of the building, there is an assortment of statues lined up leading to the entrance of the museum.
Famous Artwork:
Most of the famous artwork represented in the museum is placed on the second
floor. Holding art from the 13th century to the 18th century. The second floor holds the majority of the artwork because it was made to be the base of the museum having everything start at the top and then go down. Showing an assortment of rooms with different painter’s artwork represented in each one. The rooms show different times and perspectives of artwork from various artists.
The Birth of Venus is one of the most famous pieces of art presented in the Uffizi Gallery. It was painted in 1485 by Sandro Botticelli. It is located in the Botticelli Room on the second floor of the gallery. The painting is a representation of the goddess of love and beauty, Venus. It portrays her standing on a shell. Being blown to an island by Zephyr and Aura with a woman waiting and standing on the island. Venus is shown modestly having her hair cover all her nakedness with her long blonde hair.
Holy Family, also known as Doni Tondo, is also a very famous piece of art that is presented in the Uffizi Gallery. It was painted in 1505-1506 by Michelangelo. It is located in the Raphael and Michelangelo Room on the second floor of the gallery. The painting was painted for Agnolo Doni to represent his family: his marriage and the birth of his first child. The husband and wife were both painted by Raphael, while the child was painted by Michelangelo.
The Uffizi Gallery is one of the most famous buildings and museums in Italy. It is the home of some of the best paintings and statues in the world. Some of the paintings include The Birth of Venus and Doni Tondo. It consists of work from some of the most well-known artists in history, artists such as Michelangelo and Botticelli. It consists of 2 floors worth of art separating each room by artists and the century that they were made. The second floor consists of the 13th century to the 18th century and the first floor consists of the 17th century and 18th century. The first floor is an extension to the second floor, starting with the most important art at the top and going down.
Emma Dorsey says, “I thought the architecture was very reminiscent of the classical Italian style, strong columns and elaborate details on the statues. I thought the parallels between the plaza like orientation and the classic European plaza was interesting, reminded me of a smaller version of the plaza directly to its right.” The Uffizi Gallery sits right next to the Piazza Della Signoria, full of statues and artwork. The Uffizi Gallery is a building constructed of such detail inside and outside attracting people from all over the world to see its beauty.
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