The Uffizi

portrait of Cosmo I

The Uffizi was commissioned in 1560 by Cosmo I de Medici, and designed by Vasari to be the government's office building.  It is a U-shaped building, running from the Palazzo Vecchio to the River Arno.  As the Medici art collection grew, most of the upper floors were turned over to art, and, when the last of the Medici family died in 1743, the entire collection was willed to the state with the provision that it never leaves the city.

 

 The layout features a long hallway on the courtyard side of the building, with small galleries off to the side.  The extensive sculpture collection fills the hallway, along with paintings of the Medici and other notable Florentines.

 

Off the Primo Corridoro is a gallery added in 1581 by Francesco I, Cosmo's son.  The dome is lined with real shells and the walls are red velvet.  The purpose of the room was to show off their collection of jewels and unique artifacts.

Most of the works on display are Florentine artists, and the collection focuses on the Renaissance. It should be noted that they considered anyone from outside Florence to be foreign... there was reference to one artist from Milan who worked in Florence for years before being granted citizenship.

The Duke and Duchess of Urbano by Pietro della Francesco, 1465

Works from some of the more famous artists were among the harder ones to see as these were the ones that drew the crowds -- including the tour guides who  would gather their group right in front of the artwork and proceed to explain it, meaning the normal flow of stop, admire, move on was greatly disrupted.  At least these groups were using the radio head sets, so you didn't have to listen to loud explanations.

The Boticelli and Da Vinci rooms were under renovation, but they had moved some of the pieces to temporary display areas.











I found it interesting that they had only one Michelangelo.

At the end of the Primo Corridoro is a short hallway with windows facing the river.  It gives some great views of the Otroarno (the other side) to the south.

looking west

On the upper floor of the second side, some of the smaller galleries were replaced by larger salons, clearly an effort by the Medicis to show off their wealth.  One room even had a gilded ceiling.

At the north end of the second side, they have added a cafe... a much-needed respite after an overwhelming amount of art.  The nice thing is that it has a balcony facing the Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio.

But we're not done!  Exiting the cafe takes you down to the first floor and even more (albeit lesser) works.  This is where they hide the really foreign painters... the Dutch, Flemish and Spanish.  Here we saw Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyke, Goya, and Velasquez.


Rembrandt, Portrait of an Old Man

The route continues back around the U shape, until you finally emerge in the gift shop and can exit the building, exhausted!  We did it all in about three hours, but you would need to spend days in this place to really see everything.
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