A Visit To The Uffizi Art Gallery In Florence, Tuscany
Florence was at the very centre of the European Renaissance and the city’s Uffizi Gallery is home to one of the finest art collections in the world. The paintings are arranged more or less in chronological order and start with medieval works, moving on to International Gothic (a European wide medieval style, hence “International”), early Renaissance, High Renaissance and beyond as you move through the gallery. As well as Florentine art, there is are plenty of Sienese, Flemish and Venetian paintings displayed in the gallery. There are 45 rooms packed with masterpieces, so is quite a lot of art to take in in one day. Bravely, my friend Caroline and I decided to see the whole lot in one go, our visit to the Uffizi was the sole purpose of our visit to Florence and by the time we had finished we realised it was more than enough for a day out.
We took a 9.30 train from Camucia, a town below Cortona, near to where we live on the Tuscany Umbria border. If you would like you use the Italian railways, you can check Italian Train Times here.
Battle of San Romano, Paolo Uccello, Uffizi, Florence
Pre Booking Uffizi Tickets
Pulling in to Florence’s main station, Santa Maria Novella at 10.50, it was a 20 minute walk to the Uffizi where we collected our pre-booked tickets. Normally, there is a long queue of people without pre-booked tickets, but early February is not peak season and it looked like we could have got in quickly without booking online. However, at most times of the year pre-booking is essential if you don’t want to spend hours waiting. Click here to Order Tickets Online From The Uffizi
Uffizi Gallery – Location
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Uffizi Gallery – The Paintings
Medieval Painting In The Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Thanks to a lack of sign posting (I’m getting used to this) we missed the classical sculptures in Room 1 and started our tour in Room 2, paintings from the 13th Century and Giotto, who painted in the early 1300’s. The great thing about this room is that it contains three Maestas (the Madonna sitting on a throne in heaven) by three very famous medieval artists, Duccio di Buoninsegna, Giotto and Cimabue. All three Maestas show the beginning of a move away from the two dimensional Byzantine style. Giotto’s Maesta shows the most advanced perspective with the surrounding saints placed spatially around the throne.
Ognissanta Madonna, By Giotto, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
This was painted in 1310, compare it with Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Maesta, painted in 1285
Rucellai Madonna, Duccio di Buoninsegna, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
and the Maesta by Cimabue (Giotto’s teacher), painted in 1280
Santa Trinita Madonna, Cimabue, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
In Room 3 (Sienese Artists of the 14th Century) I found one of my favourite medieval paintings, a stunning Annunciation by Simone Martini. I could look at this for a long time, the plain gold background makes the figures in the foreground stand out, Mary shrinks back in what looks like horror, as Gabriel delivers his “good news”. The curved bodies of angel and woman really make the composition of the picture. Take a good look at the detail of the feathers of Gabriel’s wings.
Annunciation & Two Saints, Simone Martini, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
In Room 5/6 (International Gothic) I was drawn to this lavish painting by Gentile Da Fabriano, the gold is used liberally and the colours are stunning. There is almost too much going on in this scene!
Adoration Of The Magi, Gentile da Fabriano, Uffizi, Florence
Early Renaissance, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
In Room 7 I was hoping to find a panel of Paolo Uccelli’s Battle Of San Romano but it was being restored. I did, however see the portrait of Federigo da Montefeltro and his wife Battista Sforza by Piero della Francesca. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will be aware that you can follow a Piero della Francesca Trail close to where I live on the Tuscany Umbria border.
Portrait of the Duke & Duchess of Urbino, Piero della Francesca, Uffizi
The details in this painting are incredible and shows the influence of Flemish painters whom Piero della Francesca must have met in Florence and Urbino.
Renaissance Painting, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Further on, I think in room 10, we found two of the Uffizi’s most famous paintings,The Birth of Venus and Primavera by Sandro Botticelli. Although she is unlike any real woman, having a particularly strange neck and shoulders, Botticelli’s Venus is mesmerising to look at and has a strong sexual element. It’s hard to see on the image below, but when you get there, look at the curve of her hair that covers her, it is shaped to symbolise the female genitalia it hides.
The Birth Of Venus, Sandro Botticelli, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
These paintings stand out because of their size, their beautiful compositions and the fact that they do not contain subject matter from the Christian religion. The Church was no longer the sole patron of the arts and wealthy families such as the Medici were full of Renaissance ideals. The classical world was seen as a lost civilisation whose secrets in the arts, architecture, philosophy and mathematics were only now being rediscovered. Later on in life Botticelli came under the influence of the Dominican preacher Savoranola and his art reverted to Christian subject matter.
Primavera (Spring), Sandro Botticelli, Uffizi, Florence
I spent so long looking at the landscape in the centre of this painting that it took me a while to realise it was an Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci. It must be one of his earlier works as he was still at Verocchio’s workshop when he painted it in the early 1470’s.
Annunciation, Leonardo da Vinci, Uffizi, Florence
In Room 18 the portraits by Bronzino really grabbed my attention, this one of Eleonora of Toledo and her son Giovanni fascinated me. The detail of the fabric on her dress is astounding. Agnolo Bronzino was a Florentine painter of the mid 1500’s. When painting scenes rather than portraits, his style was that of the Mannerists, painters influenced by Michelangelo who elongated the bodies of their subjects and often painted them in twisted poses known as contraposto.
Eleonora of Toledo & Her Son Giovanni, Bronzino, Uffizi, Florence
In Room 19 I had a good look of this portrait by Perugino. It is so different to the highly stylised Perugino paintings that I’m used to, I found it hard to believe he could have painted it. However, painting a realistic portrait is a different undertaking to that of depicting a biblical scene set in an Umbrian landscape, so it makes sense that this is an altogether different type of picture.
Portrait of a Young Man, Perugino, Uffizi, Florence
German Painting, Uffizi Gallery
Durer and German painting is represented in Room 20. I liked this portrait of Martin Luther And His Wife by Lukas Cranach and have to wonder what the protestant reformer is doing in an art collection once owned by the Medici family.
Martin Luther And His Wife, Lukas Cranach, Uffizi, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
High Renaissance, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
In room 25 we found Michelangelo’s Holy Family (Tondo Doni). Although I wasn’t overly attracted to this painting it is a good example of the elongated bodies and contorted poses that the Mannerists adopted in their art.
Holy Family (Tondo Doni) Michangelo, Uffizi, Florence
Interestingly, Michelangelo regarded sculpture as the highest form of art, he painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling because the pope ordered him to do so. In room 26 there are several portraits by Raphael and also this painting, the Madonna of the Goldfinch. Living on the Tuscany Umbria border, I have seen a lot of paintings by Perugino, Raphael’s teacher and you can see his influence in the face of the Madonna and the way the landscape is represented in the background. You can keep yourself amused as you wander around the Uffizi trying to spot a good looking baby Jesus, I’m not sure I saw one in any of the paintings!
Madonna of the Goldfinch, Raphael, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Mannerist Painting, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Continuing, there are more Mannerist paintings from the 1500’s in Room 27, they are not really my cup of tea but here’s an example of Rosso Fiorentino’s art, he was a well known Mannerist painter.
Madonna & Child With Saint, Rosso Fiorentino, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Titian, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Then it was on to Room 28 with paintings by Titian, the famous Venetian artist. Perhaps the most famous of his paintings is the Venus of Urbino, so called because it was owned by the Dukes of Urbino. This picture is quite sensual in nature and there is much debate as to its meaning. The pose is based on a reclining Venus painted by Giorgione (Titian’s teacher), however, instead of sleeping as in the Giorgione painting, this Venus is well aware that she is being watched. it is thought that the servants in the background are looking for clothes for her to wear. The dog symbolises loyalty but as it is sleeping some commentators think it implies she is a woman of loose morals. However, the majority of commentators seem to think that this painting is an allegory of marital love.
Venus Of Urbino, Titian, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Compare it to Giorgione’s Venus (note, this is not in the Uffizi, but several Giorgione paintings are in Room 21).
Sleeping Venus, Giorgione
On to the Parmigianino paintings in Room 29, where the baby Jesus in the Madonna With The Long Neck really caught my eye, this was a particularly ugly example. His elongated body and twisted pose show off the Mannerist style perfectly but I’m not sure I’d want this one hanging in my living room!
Madonna With The Long Neck, Parmigianino, Uffizi, Florence
Rubens, Rembrandt, Tintoretto & Caravaggio, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Further on we passed works by Rubens and Rembrandt, Tintoretto and finally Caravaggio, by now, it was getting hard to look at all the works properly so I only stopped if something really caught my attention, for example, I have no recollection of seeing Ruben’s paintings of Henry IV in battle and entering Paris.
Henry IV Battle of Ivry (Above) & Triumphal Entry Into Paris (Below), Rubens Uffizi, Florence
The Tintorettos didn’t do much for me, they seemed overly gloomy, but I did stop and admire a couple of Canaletto’s photograph like depictions of Venice and Rembrandt’s portrait of himself as an old man.
Self Portrait as An Old Man, Rembrandt, Uffizi, Florence
View Of The Grand Canal, Canaletto, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Just before we exited the Uffizi, we looked at this decorative shield in the Caravaggio Room. This Medusa’s head is very attention grabbing and will stay in my memories of our visit to the Uffizi. You would hope that no one ever thought of really using it as a shield!
Medusa, Caravaggio, Uffizi, Florence
We took about three and a half hours to get around all the rooms in the Uffizi. You could obviously spend much longer but you would need a lot of stamina to stay in there all day. During our visit we ate sitting down at the bar, this was ridiculously expensive (€6 for a fairly pathetic pannino and €6 for a glass of fairly ordinary wine!) but once inside you don’t have any choice. In good weather the is a roof terrace with views of the Duomo and Giotto’s bell tower.
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