The Uffizi Gallery is organised as an extended network of rooms with amazing works of art in somewhat of a historical order n Renaissance building which was formerly the offices of the city’s magistrates, hence the name Uffizi which means “offices”.
Masterpieces of Uffizi Gallery
Cosimo de’ Medici commissioned the grand complex next to Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s seat of power. The Uffizi was created as the offices of the city’s magistrates, the Florentine Guilds, a theatre and judiciary offices.
Today the Gallery entirely occupies the first and second floors of the U-shaped building that was constructed between 1560 and 1580.
The art collections include
- Sculptures from the Middle Ages to the Modern period
- Paintings from the 14th-century and Renaissance period
- Italian Masterpieces by Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Beato Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Mantegna, Correggio, Leonardo, Raffaello, Michelangelo and Caravaggio
- Works by other European mainly German, Dutch and Flemish.painters
- Statues and busts from the Medici family.
- Roman copies of lost Greek sculptures.
The Masterpieces of the Uffizi Gallery feature on “Joy of Museums” include:
- “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli
- “Primavera” by Sandro Botticelli
- Venus de’ Medici
- “The Battle of San Romano” by Paolo Uccello
Other key artworks to explore include:
- Medusa by Caravaggio:
- Self-portrait as a Young Man by Rembrandt
- Santa Trinita Maestà by Cimabue
- Rucellai Madonna by Duccio
- Ognissanti Madonna by Giotto
- Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus by Simone Martini
- Presentation at the Temple by Ambrogio Lorenzetti
- Hugo van der Goes: Portinari Triptych
“We read that we ought to forgive our enemies, but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends.” – Lorenzo de’ Medici