FLORENCE.- The
Uffizi is showing a collection of art works entitled 'Volti
svelati' ('Faces Revealed') in the Reali Poste Hall, until 29 January 2012. This
exhibition is sponsored by the Friends of the Uffizi, an association which has
supported and worked alongside the gallery since 1993.
The exhibition
has been put together by the Uffizi Gallery with the help of the Special Office
for Historic, Artistic and Anthrolpological Heritage and the City of Florence
Museums Association.
The exhibition contains a number of classical
sculptures from the collections of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The exhibition
supervisor, Cristina Acidini said 'The exhibition sheds light on an
extraordinary part of the history of museum studies as it highlights the rather
topical and sometimes burning issue of the 'use' of ancient artefacts in museums
and galleries. The Uffizi and other places displaying Classical art, including
villas, gardens, private family collections and smaller museums and galleries,
are all places where these busts and sculptures have been on display in one way
or another.
From the end of the sixteenth century, the corridors on the second floor of the
Uffizi's famous Vasari area were home to wonderful Medici marble sculptures.
This collection is unique in Europe both in terms of quantity and quality and is
the reason why the Uffizi was recognised as 'Galleria delle Statue' ('Statues
Gallery'). The Volti Svelati exhibition highlights the gallery's impressive
collection of Classical art with a selection of paintings from both the
Republican and Imperial eras. The works of art on display are those most often
mentioned in every guide to Roman art and span a time period beginning in the
late Republican era. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to see a series of
portraits of emperors, athletes, private citizens and intellectuals which
underline the evolution of portrait painting, fashions and ideologies over three
and a half centuries of history.
The works of art coming out of storage
for the exhibition include 44 busts which make up a series entitled 'Cesari in
marmo' ('Marble Caesars'), as well as one of the best collections of Classical
portraits ever seen in the Uffizi.
From the end of the fifteenth
century, the Medici family became avid collectors of the effigies of famous
Romans. For example, there are the two marble busts of Augustus and Agrippa
which were acquired by Lorenzo de' Medici on his return from Rome in 1471. These
busts were the beginning of a collection that was set to grow over the next two
centuries. When, in 1780, Abbot Luigi Lanzi was given the job of writing a
report on the new set up of the Uffizi Gallery, under the command of Pietro
Leopoldo, he didn't hesitate in defining the portrait collection as the jewel in
the gallery's crown and second only to the collections in the capital.
Abbot Lanzi was also responsible for helping to increase the Gallery's
collections by acquiring beautiful works of art from private Florentine
collections, including marble sculptures from the villas of the Grand Duchy and
Villa Medici in Rome. After two long years' work, the collection came to number
110 pieces, rather than the original 70, and rivalled the collections in the
capital. In his book about the Gallery, 'La Real Galleria di Firenze', published
in 1782, Abbot Lanzi showed his satisfaction at having been responsible for
creating a collection of Roman portraits unrivalled throughout Europe.
The following centuries saw many changes to the 'museum' set up by Abbot
Lanzi. At the end of the 1990s, it was decided to re-organise the corridors
according to mid-eighteenth century schetches by De Greyss. Many portraits were
put into storage alongisde numerous busts gathered from Grand Ducal villas. This
exhibition aims not only to shed light on these 'forgotten' works of art, but
also to highlight how important and highly considered they were in Europe
between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries. The portraits that make up
the exhibition are tangible proof of the passion that existed for Clasical
civilisation within Western society. The exhibition includes paintings
specifically chosen from Italian and foreign collections which bring this
passion for ancient culture to life.
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