Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Michelangelo's dazzling
Tondo Doni,
a depiction of the Holy Family, hangs in room
35. The composition is unusual and the colours as vibrant as when they were first applied
in 1504-06. It was painted for wealthy Florentine merchant Agnolo Doni (who hung it
above his bed) and bought by the Medici for Palazzo Pitti in 1594.
Beautifully renovated Room 42, the
Niobe Room,
was built to house a group of statues
representing Niobe and her children. Discovered in a Roman vineyard in 1583 and
brought to Florence in 1775, the works are 4th century BC Roman copies of Greek origin-
als.
The work of Venetian masters graces Room 43, where eight Titians are displayed.
Masterpieces include the sensual nude
Venus of Urbino
(1538), and the striking portrait of
Eleonora Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino (1536-37). The next room, No 44, features works
by Paolo Veronese and Tintoretto, the latter's famously ink-black
Portrait of a Man
(c
1555-60) being a dark highlight. Tintoretto's
Leda and the Swan
(c 1550) also hangs here.
»
'New Uffizi' 1st Floor Galleries
As part of the ongoing 'New Uffizi' expansion project, the Uffizi added an astonishing
1800 sq m of gallery space to its already vast repertoire in 2012, and expansion continues
well into 2014. Head downstairs to the 1st floor where the
Sala Blu
(Blue Room), aka
rooms 46 to 55, display the Uffizi's collection of 16th and 17th century works by foreign
artists, including Rembrandt (room 49); Rubens and Van Dyck share room 55.
The next nine rooms, walls painted a deep crimson red to reflect their 16th- century fo-
cus, include two key players in ushering Florence from the High Renaissance to Manner-
ism: Andrea del Sarto (rooms 56 to 59) and Räphael (room 66). The latter's charming
Madonna of the Goldfinch
(1505-06), which he painted during his four-year sojourn in
Florence, is the star piece of the red Räphael room (No 66).
To check the latest new rooms to have opened as part of the €65 million 'New Uffizi'
expansion project, in the making since 1997, check the 'News' section of
www.uffizi.org
.
When complete (end date unknown) the Uffizi will count over 100 rooms and a lovely
new exit on Piazza Castellani designed by Japanese architect Arato Isozaki. In the mean-
time, expect to find rooms temporarily closed and the contents of others dramatically
changed.
