Florence Gallery. Uffizi Gallery in Florence (Galleria degli Uffizi)

Florence was called the “Flower of Tuscany” in ancient times. Even among other Italian cities rich in historical and artistic monuments, this thriving city is rightfully considered a treasury of art. It is decorated with the immortal creations of Giotto, Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, Cellini and many other great architects, sculptors and painters.

Ancient Florentine palaces, churches with frescoes by famous artists, museums with their truly priceless treasures have long attracted art lovers from all over the world. For the Italians themselves, Florence is a symbol of the Renaissance. Several decades ago, the historical center of Florence was closed to cars. The streets were restored to their original charm, it became easier to imagine how Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo passed by these very houses, how the indomitable Dominican monk Savanarola walked in the crowd of fanatical fans... Unfortunately, inexorable time destroyed the stone in Duomo Square, on which he loved alone sit the great Dante. But every Florentine can show you this place...

Already in ancient times, many considered Florence the most perfect of all cities. For example, Leonardo Bruni, in his eulogy for the city, wrote: “There is nothing disorderly in it, nothing inappropriate, nothing unreasonable, nothing unreasonable; everything has its place, and not only strictly defined, but also appropriate and necessary.” The Florentines glorified their city not only in words, not only by writing messages of praise. They transformed its buildings, squares and streets, and celebrated holidays with unprecedented luxury. By the middle of the 14th century, many families distinguished by inexhaustible energy and business acumen had risen to the surface of urban life in Florence (Strozzi, Alberti, etc.). Among them, the Medici family stood out, who in the past were doctors (this is the meaning of their surname). But by the middle of the 15th century, the Medici banking house became one of the richest and most influential in Florence UFFIZI, in Florence, one of the most representative art galleries in Italy. Housed in a building built for government offices in 1560-1585. architects G. Vasari and B. Buontalenti. Founded in 1575 on the basis of the collections of the Medici family. The gallery houses the world's richest collection of Italian 13th-18th centuries. (works by Duccio, Giotto, P. Uccello, Piero della Francesca, S. Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, etc.) and European painting, works of ancient art, a unique selection of self-portraits of European artists. The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) is a palace or, as it is also called, palazzo in Florence, Italy, home to one of the oldest and most famous museums in the world. The Uffizi Gallery is located in the heart of Florence. To the north the building is bordered by the Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria, and its southern side overlooks the Ario River and the Poite Vecchio.
The history of the Uffizi begins in July 1559, when the ruler of Florence, Cosimo I de' Medici, plans to unite all the administrative services of the city in a common spacious palace. Master Giorgio Vasari was invited to implement the project, and he began work in 1560. However, in 1574, Vasari died, and his successor, Bernardo Buontalenti, completed construction. Since 1575, the formation of a museum began in the Uffizi building - it was based on the Medici family collection

"Portrait of Bia Medici

daughters of Cosimo I", 1542 Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici in armor, 1545

Cosimo de' Medici went down in history under the name the Elder, and although he himself was not distinguished by great learning, he was a friend of education and art. A portrait of this uncrowned ruler of Florence, painted by the artist Pontormo, hangs in the famous Uffizi Gallery. Cosimo de' Medici is depicted in a calm pose. He sits in a chair with his hands folded and his head slightly bowed sideways towards the viewer. There is nothing ceremonial or theatrical about the head of the Medici family: he wears a plain red robe with a closed collar and loose sleeves. The portrait depicts a thin and middle-aged man, whose intelligent and energetic face shows sadness, and whose fingers are tightly clenched. It seems that he is all full of thoughts and worries, and his life is far from serenity and bliss. The seed of the Uffizi Gallery was formed in the 15th century precisely under this man - Cosimo de' Medici the Elder, who was also called the “father of the Fatherland”. He was the first of the Medici who, using his own money, began to purposefully collect works of painting and sculpture to decorate both his own palaces and the city. His example was subsequently followed by his successors, enriching the collection. The gallery was founded by Francis I, who received from Pope Pius V 26 ancient statues that the pope declared obscene for the Vatican. At first, all the collections were located in the Medici family castle - Palazzo Riccardi, but in the era of turbulent historical events many of the collected treasures perished or fell into the wrong hands Cosimo invited Giorgio Vasari as an architect, allowing him to demolish the old quarters near Piazza della Signoria and use the rubble of destroyed stone buildings for construction. The work was carried out hastily, but neither Cosimo nor Vasari ever saw the building in its finished form. Construction was completed in 1580; The Uffizi building had a long U-shape, with a narrow façade facing the river. It was not entirely original, incorporating several early buildings. These include the Church of San Pietro Scheragio and the Mint, where the first gold florins were minted in 1252. Famous artists (including Allori, Bizzelli and Pieroni) were involved in design work in the Uffizi. A hanging garden was laid out above the Loggia dei Lanzi, and a theater was built on the second floor. Construction of the palace began in 1560 by the architect Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de' Medici as the seat of the Florentine magistrate, hence the name - Uffizi, which means office. Construction ended in 1581. Vasari, by the way, was not only an architect, but also an artist, so he emphasized the perspective of the length of the corridor, decorating the facade with long eaves of the roofs. Years passed, the palace became a favorite place for displaying paintings and sculptures collected by the Medici family or purchased by them. After the decline of the House of Medici, artistic gems remained in Florence, forming one of the first modern museums. The gallery has been open to the public since the sixteenth century, but it was only officially opened to the public in 1765, as the last of the Medici family donated it entirely to the people of Florence. The core of the museum's collection consists of works of art commissioned or purchased by members of the Medici family. For example, Ferdinando I once bought the Venus de Medici, the most famous statue in the collection of sculptures available in the Uffizi Gallery. He brought all the treasures from his Roman villa here. Ferdinando II added to the collection a collection of paintings that he inherited. Cardinal Leopoldo also contributed to the creation of the museum with a magnificent collection of drawings and self-portraits of various artists. In 1737, after the death of the last Medici, all these treasures became the property of the city of Florence.
In the 18th century, the Uffizi Gallery became a public museum. In the 1730s, a group of scientists compiled a detailed (ten-volume) inventory of the works of art stored here. In 1769, the museum acquired its first director. The new administration made vigorous efforts to collect the masterpieces that belonged to the Medici dynasty, scattered across various villas. The writer Madame de Staël, who visited the gallery in 1807, noted: “The attitude towards fine arts in Florence is very democratic. In general, every member of the Medici family made a huge contribution to the Uffizi Gallery. In particular, Leopold began collecting self-portraits - his main supplier was the Academy of St. Luke, where he acquired many paintings. The wisdom of the Medici family lay in a fair assessment of art: they acquired not only paintings by old masters, but also gave enormous influence to their contemporaries. It is a known fact that the abbeys, which had collections worthy of collection, themselves informed the dukes about the presence of masterpieces and readily sold them. The Medici also patronized many artists. The huge collection of objects in the Uffizi Gallery was the reason that large-scale works, such as statues, were moved to other Florentine museums (Bargello and others). As part of the expansion of the museum's area, additional premises were opened in 2006, and the exhibition area increased from 6 thousand square meters to 13, allowing visitors to see with their own eyes what was previously only in storage.
In the 18th century, the Uffizi Gallery became a public museum. In the 1730s, a group of scientists compiled a detailed (ten-volume) inventory of the works of art stored here. In 1769, the museum acquired its first director. The new administration made energetic efforts, trying to collect the masterpieces that belonged to the Medici dynasty, scattered throughout various villas. Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo (it is in the Uffizi that the famous tondo depicting the Holy Family is kept - the only major painting by the frantic sculptor outside the Sistine Chapel ), Caravaggio, Titian... Not to mention the magnificent examples of the art of Antiquity, as well as works (the best works!) by French, German, Dutch, Flemish artists... The best artists, best works.
In 1993, a bomb exploded on Via dei Georgofili, damaging part of the palace and killing five people. The most significant damage was caused to the Niobe Hall, whose neoclassical decor and classical sculptures were restored, and most of the frescoes were also subject to restoration. The reason for this act of vandalism remains unclear; it is attributed to the activities of the Italian mafia.

Brunswick monogramist

On the ground floor there is a collection of portraits of old and modern masters, painted by them themselves. The foundation of this precious collection was laid by Cardinal Leopold de' Medici, who bought most of the portraits from the Academy of St. Luke in Rome, and then acquired portraits of ancient masters and artists of his time. This is how a wonderful collection of portraits of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giulio Romano, Veronese, Tintoretto, Titian and other masters of painting was formed. Among the foreign artists represented here are Albrecht Durer, Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Velazquez and other painters. In the Uffizi Gallery, next to their portraits, Karl Bryullov’s “Self-Portrait” hangs. Even before St. Petersburg, his painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” created a great sensation in Italy, where the historical painter Commucci and the English writer Walter Scott were crazy about it, and where Bryullov himself was given royal honors. To get to the Gallery itself, you need to climb a wide but rather steep staircase to the top floor. In a long row of halls there are world-famous collections of paintings, statues, bronzes, cameos, coins, medals, drawings and prints from different centuries. In the first part of the huge corridor, which hugs the entire museum on three sides, there is a series of extremely curious paintings.

Maria Teresa Valabridge

Here are works of imitative icon painting of the Middle Ages, and a number of gloomy and solemn Madonnas on a golden background, in red and blue clothes and with big eyes... In the same corridor, the 15th century is richly represented - both the best masters and minor artists. In the middle of the corridor there is a softly opening door, upholstered in cloth and leather. It leads to the famous “Tribune” - the central part of the museum. This not very large hall is illuminated from above, and it contains the most precious sculptures of the Gallery and paintings from various countries, schools and times.

1508. Knight and Squire On the ground floor there is a collection of portraits of old and modern masters, painted by them themselves. The foundation of this precious collection was laid by Cardinal Leopold de' Medici, who bought most of the portraits from the Academy of St. Luke in Rome, and then acquired portraits of ancient masters and artists of his time. This is how a wonderful collection of portraits of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giulio Romano, Veronese, Tintoretto, Titian and other masters of painting was formed. Among foreign artists, Albrecht Durer, Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Velazquez and other painters are represented here.
In the Uffizi Gallery, next to their portraits, Karl Bryullov’s “Self-Portrait” hangs. Even before St. Petersburg, his painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” created a great sensation in Italy, where the historical painter Commucci and the English writer Walter Scott were crazy about it, and where Bryullov himself was given royal honors. To get to the Gallery itself, you need to climb a wide but rather steep staircase to the top floor. In a long row of halls there are world-famous collections of paintings, statues, bronzes, cameos, coins, medals, drawings and prints from different centuries. In the first part of the huge corridor, which hugs the entire museum on three sides, there is a series of extremely interesting paintings. Here are works of imitative icon painting of the Middle Ages, and a number of gloomy and solemn Madonnas on a golden background, in red and blue clothes and with big eyes... In the same corridor, the 15th century is richly represented - both the best masters and minor artists. In the middle of the corridor there is a softly opening door, upholstered in cloth and leather. It leads to the famous “Tribune” - the central part of the museum. This not very large hall is illuminated from above, and contains the most precious sculptures of the Gallery and paintings from various countries, schools and times.
In the middle of the Tribune stands Venus, gracefully frank in her graceful nudity. Everything about her is simple and sweet: her delicate facial features and her delicate body. She is alien to both the majestic pride of the goddess and the coquetry inherent in representatives of cutesy human society. This young beauty is “completely mortal,” but she is surrounded by fauns who came from the mythological world, uncontrollably indulging in a merry dance, and the charming Apollo, who attracts with the softness and freshness of his youthful forms. Only the gloomy figure of a slave, sternly sharpening a knife, although executed excellently, is a dissonance to this lively and joyful ensemble.
In the Tribune, visitors can see two Venuses by Titian. One, by the will of the author, embodies the ideal beauty of the female body: she is brilliant, but cold. The other, with its rare richness and combination of colors, can be called a “historical genre”. There is evidence that, under the guise of the goddess of beauty, Titian depicted Eleanor Gonzaga, the wife of the Duke of Urbino Federigo da Montefeltre, “the most beautiful woman in all of Italy.” The Uffizi Gallery houses one of the most famous paintings in the world - “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli, according to the Russian philosopher N. Berdyaev, “the most beautiful, exciting, poetic artist of the Renaissance and the most painful...”.
For as long as he could remember, Botticelli was deeply unhappy and happy at the same time. He was, as they say, not of this world. Dreamily fearful, illogical in actions and fantastic in judgments. He believed in insights and did not care about wealth. He didn’t build his own house, didn’t start a family. But he was very happy that he could capture manifestations of beauty in his paintings. He turned life into art, and art became for him true life, it was in the artist’s paintings that “love and passion were overwhelmed.” More than a ray of sunshine, Botticelli trusted the ray of his eye, and his brush was precise and firm. Like Petrarch and Dante, he is attracted, deceived and inspired by the Image. This is the image of a young man beautiful girl, the lover of another man (Giuliano de' Medici). She is Beauty itself, the queen of almighty art. And that is why with such painful passion Botticelli warms his hands at someone else’s fire. And that’s why Vespucci says about Simonetta what “has never been said about any woman.” Botticelli creates a banner for Giuliano de' Medici when he participates in a knight's tournament. The banner depicts Pallas Athena, but everyone understands perfectly well that this is Giuliano’s beloved Simonetta, a beauty in a white dress. But life destroys beauty, fate pursues love, Simonetta dies of consumption. Her death is a deep grief for Botticelli, a host of torment and suffering. In an effort to weaken them, the artist captures everything and captures Simonetta Vespucci in his paintings. He dresses her up in beautiful clothes, decorates her braid of “copper” hair with pearls, carefully draws a little snub nose, marks on the lips a mysterious smile of seduction and a mysterious dream. Her high forehead seems to him like the forehead of a seer, and the childishly touching expression on her face and eyes radiating hope evoke a thrill of tenderness.

Anyone who watches “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli experiences an indescribable charm. Look at this Venus, this bashful girl, in whose eyes some kind of bright sadness wanders. The rhythm of the composition is present in the entire picture - both in the bend of the young body, and the strands of hair that so beautifully rush towards the wind, and in the general consistency of her hands, in the outstretched leg, in the turn of her head and in the figures that surround her. In many of Sandro Botticelli’s paintings, this chastely naked woman reigns, woven from the rhythms of soft lines, bashfully covering her breasts and womb...
Paintings are hung on all eight walls of the Tribune. Raphael is represented here by “Madonna with the Goldfinch” - a painting that touches the heart with its simple-minded, but high spiritual charm. A woman-mother, pure as a girl, who has not yet fully blossomed into a woman, illuminates you with the quiet radiance of a bright morning. The entire spring landscape of a field strewn with flowers corresponds to its image. And the image of the Florence Cathedral with distant blue mountains gives the whole picture an intimate character.


Next to the Madonna and the Goldfinch, two more works by Raphael are exhibited - John the Baptist and Portrait of Pope Julius II.


Michelangelo's The Holy Family is exhibited in the same room. They say that the customer accepted this picture with hesitation. Indeed, this bizarre work of the “titan of the Renaissance” seems completely alien to religious content. The Tribune also contains several paintings on the theme “Adoration of the Magi.” Artists loved this biblical story, many turned to it more than once. The Gospel story about the three wise men presenting gifts to the newborn Christ was used by some to show the festive spectacle of a richly dressed crowd; others saw it as an opportunity to show the world of human experience. In Sandro Botticelli, for example, the picture is constructed in such a way that in the groupings, movements and gestures of the figures crowded around Mary and the Child, the most varied shades of living feelings are visibly conveyed - from calm, almost cold curiosity to violent excitement and manifestations of ardent love. The Uffizi Gallery also exhibits “The Adoration of the Magi,” painted by Leonardo da Vinci and Ghirlandaio.


Duke and Duchess of Urbino. Piero della Francesca
The Uffizi Gallery has the world's richest collection of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 18th centuries. (works of the Venetian and Florentine schools are especially well represented). Excellent examples of antique, French, German, Dutch, Dutch and Flemish art are presented. The collection of self-portraits of European artists located in the Uffizi is also unique. Portrait of Ferdinand Magellan by an unknown artist, 17th century Among the many paintings presented in the gallery, it is worth highlighting the works of such masters as Cimabue (“Madonna”, 1260-1280), Duccio di Buoninsegna (“Madonna Rucellai”, 1285-1286), Giotto di Bondone (“Madonna Ognissanti”, 1310), Simone Martini (“Annunciation”, 1333), Paolo Uccello (“Battle of San Romano”, middle part“Bernardino della Ciarda falls from his horse”, 1450s), Piero della Francesco (Portrait of Duke Federico da Montefeltro and Duchess Battista of Urbino, 1465-1466), Fra Filippo Lippi (“Madonna and Child with Two Angels”, 1465) , Sandro Botticelli (“Spring”, “Birth of Venus”, “Adoration of the Magi”), Hugo van der Goes (“Portinari Triptych”, 1476-1479), Leonardo da Vinci (“Annunciation”, 1472-1475, “Adoration of the Magi” , 1481), Piero di Cosimo (“Perseus liberating Andromeda”, 1515), Albrecht Durer (“Adoration of the Magi”, 1504), Michelangelo (“Tondo Doni”, 1503), Raphael (“Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de’ Medici and Luigi de Rossi, 1518-1519), Titian (Venus of Urbino, 1538), Francesco Parmigianino (Madonna of the Long Neck, 1534-1540), Caravaggio (Bacchus, Sacrifice of Isaac, Medusa) , Andrea Verrocchio (“The Baptism of Christ”, 1472-1475).

In addition to the gallery, the Uffizi building also houses other important collections: the Contini Bonacossi collection donated to the museum, the collection of prints and drawings containing almost 120,000 graphic works dating from the end of the 14th century to the present day, as well as the well-known “Vasari corridor” (built by Vasari in 1565), connecting the Uffizi with the Pitti Palace and including a significant collection of 17th century paintings and a famous collection of self-portraits Maesta. Giotto
Annunciation. Simone Martini Website materials used

UFFIZI GALLERY

"Direct-Media", Moscow, 2016

Preface

In the middle of the 16th century, the glory of Florence as the city in which the High Renaissance flourished was becoming a legendary past. But, as you know, a holy place is never empty: the local artistic life has not gone away, it has only taken a different form. Art flowed into the museum. However, the then Florentine ruler had the idea to expand his residence. It turned out that he was fulfilling the will of fate, and it wanted one of the most famous museums in the world to appear in Florence...

By the time in question, the Medici had established dominance over all of Tuscany. Cosimo I, a representative of the younger branch of the Medici family, decided to build a building where all government institutions would be concentrated. Hence the name - “Uffizi”, or, in modern language, “offices”. But Florence was lucky: the family of bankers and merchants that ruled it was distinguished by two features - from generation to generation the Medici passed on their love of art and had long patronized artists. Sometimes they themselves became artists, in the broad sense. By the middle of the 16th century, the Medici had collected a good collection, which, among other things, included many works of art, and from the very beginning they decided to give part of the premises to the Uffizi for its storage.

Giorgio Vasari, a man of diverse talents (he was also a painter and art historian), was invited as the architect of the planned building. And so in 1560, between Piazza della Signoria and the Arno River, construction began on a U-shaped structure. It was supposed to consist of two wings and a transition between them. But the ensemble also included buildings that already existed at the chosen location, including the Loggia dei Lanzi overlooking the square, which was intended for meetings and receptions.

The building turned out to be huge, and in order to diversify and at the same time compositionally unite it from the outside, Vasari came up with an architectural module that was repeated throughout the entire facade: a portico with pilasters on the sides - on the first floor and three windows above it - on the second. The part that connected both wings of the Uffizi was cut through by large through arches that filled the narrow space between the two wings with light. The result was also an interestingly designed façade overlooking the Arno River. The Medici collections grew rapidly, so Cosimo's son Francesco I decided to expand the exhibition space in the Uffizi. He ordered the removal of administrative offices from the second floor of the building, and in their place, the construction of halls for ancient statues. For them, Bernardo Buontalenti, who worked in the Uffizi after Vasari’s death, created a long gallery with vaults painted with “grotesques” - animal and plant patterns. A similar ornament decorated Nero’s “Golden House,” an ancient structure whose ruins were discovered during the Renaissance. In addition, Buontalenti built the so-called Tribune - an octagonal hall with high windows, its prototype was the famous Tower of the Winds in Athens. This appeal to antiquity was also a kind of collecting.

During the time of Ferdinando I, who ruled after his brother Francesco, workshops of artists, sculptors, jewelers, gilders, stone carvers, miniaturists, and porcelain makers appeared in the Uffizi. At the same time, the “Hall” was built geographical maps", on the walls of which maps were drawn, and a globe was installed in the center, and the "Mathematics Hall", where scientific instruments were placed. In other rooms, weapons and armor, engraved stones and portraits were displayed. As you can see, the Medici collected everything that had artistic, historical or scientific value, or even just pleasing to the eye. Therefore, at first the Uffizi combined an art gallery and a cabinet of curiosities.

One of the main events in the history of the nascent museum occurred in 1591: the collection was opened to visitors from the highest circles of society. The Uffizi Gallery was actively replenished with works of art, which were also sent by members of the ruling family who lived outside of Florence, for example, the French queens Catherine and Marie de' Medici. Works of painting began to be taken from churches and monasteries to the Uffizi, sometimes replacing them with copies.

But the first of the Medici who began to collect paintings and drawings with knowledge of the matter was Ferdinand’s brother, Cardinal Leopoldo: well versed in art, he collected paintings and graphics so that certain art schools and the periods were presented as fully as possible. During the reign of Leopoldo, collections of self-portraits, drawings, porcelain, medals, and bronzes were placed in the western wing. In addition, a “Fonderia” was opened in the Uffizi, in which perfumes and medicines were made, and natural rarities were exhibited: rhinoceros horn, ostrich egg, embalmed animals.

Died in 1737 last ruler from the Medici family - Gian Gastone. In the same year, his sister Anna Maria signed a document according to which the Uffizi with all its collections went to Florence and was declared a public museum, and not just “for its own.” Once upon a time, Lorenzo the Magnificent Medici, one of the most famous ancestors of those who built this gallery, and himself a patron of art, wrote in his poem about the ideal ruler: “Wealth, splendor, everything that befits the Power is not his, part of the people... “And so it happened.

The first visitors, as they say, “from the street,” appeared in the museum’s halls in 1769. Luigi Lanzi was appointed curator of the Uffizi Gallery, who began putting the entire collection in order, in particular, arranging the exhibited paintings according to chronology and painting schools. Then, under Ferdinand III of Lorraine, when Tommaso Puccini became the director of the museum (who saved masterpieces that the conquerors could take to Paris during Napoleon’s invasion of Italy), a glass roof was built in the Gallery to allow natural light to penetrate into the premises, and nameplates were placed near the paintings artists and dates of creation of works.

Already in the 19th century, it became clear that it was simply impossible to place in one museum everything that had been collected over the many years of its existence. It was decided to remove most of the ancient art, jewelry, scientific instruments, and all weapons from the collection and create new museums on their basis. The Uffizi became an art gallery, which mainly houses paintings, with statues and works of decorative art accompanying them.

A serious study of the paintings presented in the collection and their restoration began. The last premises, which were still occupied by some government institutions, were vacated and given over to exhibits.

In general, as the ancestors of the Italians, the ancient Romans, said, “vita brevis, ars longa,” which means “life is short, art is eternal.”

ART OF ANCIENT GREECE AND ANCIENT ROME

Venus de Medici
CLEOMENES, SON OF APOLLODORS

This marble copy of a lost Greek original from the Hellenistic era was in the papal art collection in Rome and was acquired by the Medici collection, which is how it got its name. The statue belongs to the type of “Aphrodite of Cnidus” or “Bashful Venus”, who covers her nakedness with her hands.

The beautiful blooming body of the goddess emerging from the foam of the sea is finely crafted by the sculptor. In Venus’s entire appearance, and not just in her gesture, one can feel tremulous fear: she seemed to shrink slightly inside and stop. Because the marble “flesh” expresses the state of the character, the sculpture seems living, breathing. George Gordon Byron wrote about this statue in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage:

You look, you are unable to say goodbye to her,
You came to her - and there is no turning back!
In chains behind the triumphal chariot
Follow the arts, for you have been taken captive.

ART OF ANCIENT GREECE AND ANCIENT ROME:

• Centaur Torso (Gaddi Torso)
• Portrait of Cicero

Centaur Torso (Gaddi Torso)
1st century BC e. Marble. Height 153

A fragment of the statue depicting a centaur with his hands clasped behind his back was owned by the Gaddi family, hence its name. This is an example of Hellenistic art, and it belongs to the so-called Pergamon school, whose sculptors created the “Pergamon Altar” with its scenes of the battle of gods and titans.

The torso is full of power and at the same time worked out so much that the muscles “play” under the skin. A sharp turn of the body fills it with expressive movement, the waves of which can be felt even from a distance. This sculpture influenced the young Michelangelo Buonarroti, an Italian sculptor and painter whose characters are characterized by strong, muscular bodies.

Portrait of Cicero
Mid-1st century. Marble. Height 74

About Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman philosopher, orator and politician who lived in the 2nd–1st centuries BC, Plutarch wrote: “At a time when greed flourished... Cicero gave clear evidence of his indifference to profit, his humanity and integrity.” .

The commitment of Roman sculptors to realism helped the unknown master not only to truthfully embody appearance Cicero, but also to show the inner state of this person. The marble bust represents him as middle-aged and tired, depicted in a difficult period of his life. Cicero's forehead, whom Plutarch describes as a cheerful man, is frowned here, his gaze is concentrated, and his lips are compressed. It seems that he is conducting a dialogue within himself with an imaginary opponent, or perhaps arguing with himself.

The type of sculptural bust common in Roman art of that time - rounded at the bottom, with a toga laid in various folds, on a round stand - helped to exalt the person depicted, despite all the human features emphasized by the sculptor.

ART OF ITALY: BEFORE THE 16TH CENTURY

Spring. Fragment
SANDRO BOTTICELLI
Around 1478. Wood, tempera. 203x314

The heyday of Sandro Botticelli's painting came at a time when he became close to the circle of humanists - poets, writers, philosophers, artists - at the Medici court. Lorenzo the Magnificent, ruler of Florence, wrote poetry and patronized the arts. This painting with complex philosophical and poetic content was commissioned for the villa of his cousin Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco Medici.

“Spring” reflects three inextricable directions in which the art and philosophy of the Florentine humanists developed: ancient, Christian and courtly. From antiquity here are characters and motifs of myths. On the right, Zephyr, the warm western wind, kidnaps Chloris, the Greek nymph of fields and flowers, who turns into Flora, depicted right there - already a Roman goddess, showering the earth with flowers. On the left side are three graces, personifying chastity, love and pleasure. Mercury, dispersing the clouds, standing under the shade of orange trees, refers the viewer's imagination to the myth of Paris and his choice of the most beautiful of the goddesses, to whom he gave the apple as the winner. This goddess, Aphrodite, or as the ancient Romans called her, Venus, walks softly on the carpet of herbs and flowers in the center of the painting. Above her head is Cupid with a bow, aiming at one of the graces.

The Christian theme is manifested here in that the main character resembles the Madonna, whose hand seems to bless everyone. This heroine also reveals the cult of the “beautiful lady,” the inspiration of poets. These courtly sentiments flourished in the circle of Lorenzo the Magnificent. The painting was painted shortly after the death of Lorenzo's brother Giuliano Medici's beloved, the beautiful Simonetta Vespucci. Venus resembles her face. Mercury himself resembles Giuliano, in whom Saint Sebastian, the Christian martyr, is also recognized.

This work, in which a variety of motives converged, marked an important turn towards painting that was not subject to any canons. Only the artist’s soul and his will were visible in it. Russian art critic Pavel Muratov wrote about Botticelli: “He was the first to meet the morning fog of the new and have a long day in the history of the world under the sole banner of pure art."

ART OF ITALY (BEFORE THE 16TH CENTURY):

• Madonna and Child with Angels (Ognisanti Madonna). DUCCIO DI BUONINSEGNA
• Annunciation. SIMONE MARTINI
• Bringing to the temple. AMBROGIO LORENZETTI
• Adoration of the Magi. GENTILE DA FABRIANO
• Madonna and Child, Saint Anne and angels. MAZOLINO DA PANICALE,
  MASACCIO
  
• Coronation of Mary. FRA BEATO ANGELICO
• Battle of San Romano. PAOLO UCCELLO
• Triptych with the Adoration of the Magi, Circumcision and Ascension. ANDREA MANTEGNA
• Hercules and Hydra. ANTONIO POLLAIOLO
• Portraits of Federico da Montefeltro of Urbino and Battista Sforza. PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA
• Baptism of Christ. ANDREA VERROCCHIO, LEONARDO DA VINCI
• Adoration of the Magi. LEONARDO DA VINCI
• Annunciation. LEONARDO DA VINCI
• Adoration of the Magi. SANDRO BOTTICELLI
• Birth of Venus. SANDRO BOTTICELLI
• Madonna and Child with Angels (Madonna del Magnificat). SANDRO BOTTICELLI
• Sacred allegory. GIOVANNI BELLINI
• Pietá. PIETRO PERUGINO

Madonna and Child with Angels (Madonna Rucellai)
DUCCIO DI BUONINSEGNA
1285. Wood, tempera. 450x290

The artist from Siena, Duccio di Buonisegna, introduced the decorativeness and grace of French Gothic into the Byzantine style of painting, which reigned in Italian painting at that time. This altar image was painted by him at the request of the community of Mary for the chapel in the Florentine church of Santa Maria Novella, and in the 16th century it was transferred to another chapel, Rucellai, which is why it received its current name.

The image of the Madonna and Child enthroned, placed on a gold background, follows the Byzantine tradition. But the brightness of the colors, their festiveness, as well as the whimsical lines of the Mother of God’s robe, especially the golden border on Her cloak, are the result of “Gothic influence.” And in the appearance of all the characters presented here, right down to the angels carefully lowering the throne from heaven, one can feel the new trends of more realistic painting for that time. Duccio's art, although cautiously, already foreshadowed the Renaissance.

Madonna and Child with Angels (Ognisanti Madonna)
GIOTTO (GIOTTO DI BONDONE)
Around 1306–1310. Wood, tempera. 325x204

This large altarpiece by Giotto, representing the Virgin and Child surrounded by angels and saints (“ognisanti” in Italian means “all saints”), is made in the tradition of the 11th–13th centuries. At that time, Italian painting was under strong Byzantine influence, but the artist introduced something completely new into the medieval pictorial canon.

The Madonna sits on the throne not strictly in the center and is depicted half-turned. Giotto painted her figure in such a way that she looks majestic and voluminous, this is emphasized by the plastic folds of the robe. The conventional golden background, symbolizing heaven, is combined here with the depth of space, expressed through the architecture of the throne - its steps and canopy. The master also focused his attention on the emotions of the characters, depicting angels and saints reverently raising their heads and looking with spiritual trepidation at the Mother of God and the Child.

Annunciation
SIMONE MARTINI
1333. Wood, tempera. 265x305

In the work of Simone Martini, a representative of the Siena school, the features of late Gothic with its decorativeness and elongated graceful bodies were combined with the features of Proto-Renaissance painting.

The artist painted “The Annunciation” for the altar of St. Ansanius in the Cathedral of Siena. The figure of Mary appears against a golden background, symbolizing the sky, with a restrained, smooth silhouette. The whimsical figure of the Archangel Gabriel - his still flying wings, his cloak fluttering behind - brings a feeling of air and wind into the room. From the heavenly messenger to Mary in the picture there are words from the Gospel: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28), and this thin ligature looks like part of the ornament that lines and colors form. Everything here is pleasing to the eye: bright angel wings, white lilies standing in a vase - a symbol of the purity and purity of Mary, and the lines and combination of colors in the picture.

The images in the central scene are fragile, ethereal, as if covered in mountain air. In comparison with them, Saint Ansanius and Saint Julitta depicted on the side parts of the altar are drawn out more voluminously, which led researchers to wonder if this is the work of Lippo Memmi, whose signature is also under the picture. However, the artist’s student most likely only gilded the frame, and Martini painted the saints himself and depicted them more vividly in order to emphasize the unearthly spirit of the presented scene.

Bringing to the temple
AMBROGIO LORENZETTI
1342. Wood, tempera. 257x168

The Siena master Ambrogio Lorenzetti created this altar, of which only the central part has reached us, for the Siena Cathedral.

The Gothic interior of the church - Lorenzetti's action takes place in the cathedral, for which the altar was intended - is combined with "antique" sculptures on the facade, for example, with winged geniuses supporting a garland. The solemnity of the scene is emphasized by the bright, sonorous colors of the clothes and architectural elements, and the detailed details - the robe of the high priest, the sacrificial doves in his hand, the capitals of the columns, the mosaics decorating the church - are in amazing harmony with this high mood.

Elder Simeon holds the Infant Christ in his arms and prophesies about Him with trepidation, while Mary, hearing his words, is sad and absorbed in herself. All other characters listening to the old man are also endowed with their own emotions. This desire to express the feelings of those depicted, to paint their figures in sufficient volume, was an undoubted sign of the approaching Renaissance.

Adoration of the Magi
GENTILE DA FABRIANO
1423. Wood, tempera. 303x282

The painting of Gentile da Fabriano represents such a movement in European art as international Gothic. The master created the altar “Adoration of the Magi” for the Strozzi Chapel of the Church of Santa Trinita in Florence.

A crowded colorful procession is depicted moving towards the foreground of the picture. The Gospel story about the kings who came to worship the Infant Christ is interpreted here in the spirit of a medieval chivalric romance: a servant ties a spur to one of the wise men, which emphasizes that his master belongs to knighthood, scenes of hunting are interspersed in the picture, and the manner of many of the characters can be described as “courtly” - just look, for example, at the maids on the left. This work is interesting to look at because it is full of wonderful details, for example, the Infant Christ strokes the head of an elderly sorcerer who kisses His foot. Among those who came from afar, there is everyone - young and old, knights and hunters. The picture contains not only people, but also animals - a lion, a cheetah, monkeys, a falcon. It seems that the artist also used the plot in order to depict the richness of the world he knew.

This altar image is painted with pure, shining, jewel-like colors, and its decorativeness is enhanced by gold interspersed here and there. The frame was made according to the drawing of the master himself, who included small images in it and thought out the decor to the smallest detail. The predella of the altar consists of three pictorial parts, representing “The Nativity of Christ,” “The Flight into Egypt,” and “The Bringing into the Temple.” Art historian Viktor Lazarev wrote: “In his altarpiece, the most beautiful and festive painting of the early Quattrocento, Gentile depicted the feudal world that was leaving the historical stage in all its splendor, with all its outwardly attractive features, in the aura of its “knightly romance.”

Madonna and Child, Saint Anne and Angels
MAZOLINO DA PANICALE,
MASACCIO (TOMMASO DI GIOVANNI DI SIMONE CASSAI)
Around 1425. Wood, tempera. 175x103

Masolino's brushes in this work, made for the Church of Sant'Ambrogio in Florence, belong to the image of St. Anne and the angels, and Masaccio - the Madonna and Child and an angel in green and red attire. The influence of medieval art is visible here in the golden background, the curtain, the iconography of the entire scene - Mary sits in front of St. Anne with the little Christ on her knees, and on the sides are angels placed one above the other. But this is already a Renaissance work, especially where the brush of Masaccio worked, who was the first of those who can be entirely attributed to the masters of the Renaissance. The figures he painted are illuminated from the side and depicted with knowledge of perspective, which the artist studied. He focuses his attention only on the main thing, so there is power in the created images, which soon manifested itself in the paintings done by the artist in Florentine churches. Masaccio did not live long, but managed to influence all of Renaissance painting.

Coronation of Mary
FRA BEATO ANGELICO (FRA GIOVANNI DA FIESOLE)
1434–1435. Wood, tempera. 112x114

The paintings of the Early Renaissance artist, Dominican monk Fra Angelico, are imbued with a state of quiet joy. The master’s multi-figure works are also filled with it, such as the “Coronation of Mary”, made for the Church of Sant’Egidio in Florence.

Christ places a crown on the head of the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, angels blow trumpets, saints reverently contemplate what is happening. The golden background, coming from the Byzantine tradition of depicting heaven, is combined here with relief-drawn figures, and the spirit of the Middle Ages, still felt in this altar image, is combined with a complex composition already inherent in the Renaissance.

The coloring of the picture is best described by words from Nikolai Gumilyov’s poem about Fra Angelico:

And the colors, the colors are bright and clean,
They were born with it and died with it.
There is a legend: he dissolved flowers
In bishop-blessed oil.

In the compositions of the predella, that is, those located at the bottom of the main image, the artist presented “The Betrothal of Mary” and “The Assumption of Mary,” now kept in the Museum of San Marco in Florence.

Battle of San Romano
PAOLO UCCELLO
Around 1438. Wood, tempera. 180x323

The presented painting by Quattrocento artist Paolo Uccello is one of three he painted on this topic and stood at the origins of the battle genre in European art. All these works, commissioned by Leonardo Bartolini Salimbeni, who took part in the battle, depict moments of the battle between the Florentines and the Sienese, which took place in 1432.

In the painting “The Battle of San Romano”, a Florentine knight knocks out the leader of the enemy army, Bernardino della Charda, from the saddle with a spear. The leader of the Florentines, Niccolo da Tolentino, sitting on a white horse, has already knocked one of the enemies to the ground. There is a battle going on all around, “horses and people are mixed together,” spears and crossbows are thrown up, knights and their weapons are flying to the ground. The tension of the whole scene is also given by the fact that many figures fit into a small space; moreover, at the edges of the composition, the composition is deliberately cut off by a frame, which makes it seem that it is cramped within the allotted limits.

Uccello depicts his characters in a variety of poses. It was probably in order to practice this skill that he took up the job. The red horse on the left, galloping away, the gray one with the knight who fell with him, the white one on which the leader of the Florentines is sitting, show how the artist coped with complex angles and perspective. The dynamism of the entire scene is emphasized by the color scheme, in which bright, pure colors collide.

Triptych with the Adoration of the Magi, Circumcision and Ascension
ANDREA MANTEGNA
1460–1464. Wood, tempera. 86x161.5

Andrea Mantegna is an artist in whose paintings, already several decades before the start of the High Renaissance, the approaching steps of this powerful art were felt.

The triptych was painted by order of Margrave Ludovico Gonzaga for the chapel at his family palace in Mantua (for this family the painter would work for the rest of his life). The miniature writing of the altar image, the abundance of marvelous details, characteristic of the art of the Early Renaissance, are combined here with the power and monumentality that were inherent in the next stage of Italian painting. As a result, the small picturesque altar has the same impression as Mantegna's wall paintings in the Gonzaga Palace. And at the same time, you want to look at the triptych like a jewel from a box.

In the central part, the artist presented a scene of the worship of the Magi: among the rocky landscape he loved so much, a long procession of people in luxurious attire moves. They go to worship the Child sitting on Mary's lap. Angels hover around. Mantegna’s dry and bright writing makes the image literally shine also thanks to the special “air” in the paintings - completely transparent, rarefied, which only happens high in the mountains. Therefore, in the world created by the artist, everything is visible: the path in the distance, and the bright castle to which it leads, and the wool of the camel, and the coarse grasses, and the thin golden threads that permeate the clothes. And at the same time, the stage can be imagined expanding across the entire wall of the chapel. Mantegna knew this and, in order to enhance the monumental effect of the image, he painted it on a concave surface.

In the “Circumcision” scene (on the right), the artist carefully painted the ornament of the walls, the compositions in the lunettes - “The Sacrifice of Isaac” and “Moses presenting the people with the Tablets of the Covenant”, a basket with doves in Joseph’s hand, a tray with accessories for circumcision, which the boy hands to the high priest. The image of little John the Baptist sucking his finger while holding a bitten bagel in his other hand is touching. This whole detailed scene would be suitable for a large mural.

And only in the third composition - “Ascension” (left) - there are almost no carefully depicted details, it is more ascetic and powerful, the rocky landscape is again visible in it, and even the cloud on which Christ stands seems to be carved out of marble. But, as before, the feelings of the characters are subtly conveyed: the amazement and hope of Mary and the apostles, slight sadness and the promise of meeting in heaven in the eyes of the Savior.

Hercules and Hydra
ANTONIO POLLAIOLO
1460. Wood, tempera. 17x12

The small-sized painting by Antonio Pollaiolo, a Florentine painter of the Quattrocento era, depicts one of the exploits of the ancient Greek hero Hercules, or Hercules. A second tablet with a composition on the theme of this myth is also in the museum. Researchers suggest that both works are sketches for large paintings commissioned by the artist Piero de' Medici, or their smaller copies. But they can also be independent works, and then it is even more necessary to note that Pollaiuolo managed to endow such a small image with monumentality.

As a plot, the master took that part of the myth of Hercules in which he fights the Lernaean hydra, a giant snake that had many heads and one of them was immortal. The artist conveys the tension of the battle by depicting the hero’s swollen muscles and desperate facial expression. The work is full of movement. The strength and power of Hercules is emphasized by the landscape located far below and by the fact that the main character is placed against the sky. But at the same time, the painter was clearly captivated by the beautiful and elastic lines of the draperies, the snake’s body, and the winding ribbon of the river, which create a complex pattern in the work.

Portraits of Federico da Montefeltro of Urbino and Battista Sforza
PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA
1465. Both - wood, oil. 47x33

As if filled with air, the paintings of this Quattrocento artist at the same time leave an impression of power and peace. These are the portraits of the Duke of Urbino Federico da Montefeltro and his wife Battista Sforza.

Their faces are shown in profile, in accordance with the portrait tradition of that time, closely related to the depiction of famous people on coins and medals. But none of the portrait artists was able to derive such benefit from this perspective as Piero della Francesca: he gave the images of Federico and Battista unprecedented majesty, and for the first time raised the person being portrayed to the heights where he should have stood in the era of humanism. The impression of the monumentality of the images with the small size of the boards is enhanced by the fact that the role of the background is played by a landscape receding into the distance, shown from a high point. It should be noted that the angle in which Federico is depicted also made it possible to hide the disfigured half of the fearless condottiere’s face. But the embossed profile, even more highlighted by the even red color of the robe, has a soft cut-off sculpting. A calm, self-confident look from under heavy eyelids and the tenderness of the skin on the temples, cheeks and neck give such a subtle and true sense of a person that the psychological portrait that spread in later times does not always provide.

Initially, the doors of the altar were movable thanks to hinges; it could be folded and the scenes of the triumph of Federico and Battista written on the back of the boards with portraits could be viewed. Both spouses, sitting on horse-drawn chariots, ride towards each other. In the depiction of the landscape, painted in detail and conveying the light-air environment, the influence of Dutch painting is noticeable.

Baptism of Christ
ANDREA VERROCCHIO,
LEONARDO DA VINCI
1470–1475. Wood, tempera, oil. 177x151

Being primarily a sculptor, Andrea Verrocchio carried out painting commissions intermittently, as a result of which one of his paintings - “The Baptism of Christ” - could not be completed. He asked his student Leonardo da Vinci, young but already achieved by that time, to complete what he had begun. great success, although he remained in the teacher’s workshop. The central figures and the angel on the right were already painted in a manner typical of Verrocchio - dry, linear, with exquisite silhouettes of the figures.

Leonardo depicted an angel standing on the left, but did not use tempera, like the teacher, but oil paints, which dry longer and allow you to convey soft chiaroscuro, enveloping the image in a light haze. This is how Leonard’s “sfumato” technique, which later became famous, was born. The artist also painted part of the landscape behind the angels, the basis for which was a drawing he made depicting the Arno River valley. The work of the young painter amazed Verrocchio and became so popular that copies were made from this group of angels.

Adoration of the Magi
LEONARDO DA VINCI
1480–1481. Wood, tempera, oil. 243x246

This altarpiece was commissioned by Leonardo from the canons of the monastery of San Donato in Scopeto, but remained unfinished, either because the artist left for Milan, or because he simply abandoned this plan. But the picture looks complete and bears all the features of the master’s painting of that time.

In the Quattrocento tradition, Leonardo somewhat overloaded the composition with an abundance of figures in expressive poses, details of landscape and architecture. However, this can be explained by the fact that Leonardo, as a Renaissance artist, was curious about the world order. Therefore, such a category as diversity played a big role for him. Leonardo’s contemporary, writer Baldassare Castiglione, noted: “... the world structure that we see, with a spacious sky, so sparkling with bright stars, and with the earth in the center, surrounded by seas, which is diversified by mountains, valleys and rivers and which is decorated with so many different trees and lovely flowers and herbs, - one might say, is a noble and great picture painted by the hand of nature and God ... "

For Italian humanists, the Divine stood at the center of the universe. In Leonardo's work, Mary, holding the Infant Christ on her lap, stands out from the background of many “actively acting” characters with a calm pose and a smooth turn of her head. The artist builds a compositional triangle or, more precisely, a pyramid, at the top of which is the head of Mary. This technique, which gave balance and harmony to the depicted image, found widespread use among the masters of the High Renaissance.

Annunciation
LEONARDO DA VINCI
Around 1472. Wood, oil, tempera. 98x217

Leonardo worked on this painting while still in Verrocchio's studio. The young artist had to complete what other students had started and correct their mistakes. He completed several sketches of Mary's cloak and the robe of the Archangel Gabriel and, based on these drawings, rewrote the draperies, which as a result lay in voluminous folds. Then Leonardo repainted the head of the Archangel Gabriel, making it slightly bowed, but did not have time to make changes to the image of Mary, whose pose does not look entirely natural. The one whose brush touched here before Leonardo probably did not know the laws of perspective very well either. But all these mistakes unexpectedly show how difficult it was to master those techniques of realistic painting that seem so natural in the paintings of the Renaissance masters.

A pencil and ink drawing by the artist at the same time has been preserved, in which Mary bowed her head, closing her eyes, Her hair was tied at the top with a ribbon with a precious brooch, and silky strands scattered over her shoulders. Leonardo, apparently, so valued this subtle, poetic image born under his pen that he painted a separate small picture on the theme of the Annunciation.

Adoration of the Magi
SANDRO BOTTICELLI
Around 1475. Wood, tempera. 111x134

In this multi-figure composition, the Quattrocento master Sandro Botticelli presented in the image of the Magi worshiping the Infant Christ, members of the Medici family, bankers and merchants, the rulers of Florence, and those close to them, including himself.

Among the ruins of ancient Rome, symbolizing the end of the old world and the beginning of a new, Christian one, sits the Madonna. She holds the Baby on her lap, Joseph stands behind, leaning on his hand, looking tenderly at the newborn. Cosimo the Elder de Medici knelt before Christ. Giorgio Vasari wrote: “And we see special expressiveness in the old man, who, kissing the feet of our Lord and melting with tenderness, shows in the most excellent way that he has reached the goal of his longest journey.” Closer to leading edge The paintings depict the sons of Cosimo, Piero and Giovanni. By the time the work was written, they and their father had already died, but Botticelli included them in the family circle as inextricably linked with it. In a black and red robe, Giuliano, son of Piero, stands, thoughtful, behind him with a beard and in a hat is the philosopher Giovanni Argiropoulo, in front of him in blue is the customer of the work, Zanobi del Lama. On the left, Giuliano's brother, Lorenzo the Magnificent, stands in a proud pose, next to him is the poet Angelo Poliziano, the humanist and philosopher Pico della Mirandola is telling them something. Finally, in the lower right corner, Botticelli himself, wrapped in a red cloak, looks at the viewer. The tradition of depicting oneself among the participants in a scene from Scripture was widespread during the Renaissance.

The Medici established the so-called Brotherhood of the Magi in Florence, which included themselves and their associates. The brotherhood organized costumed processions: its members, dressed as wise men, walked and rode horses through the streets of the city. Probably, these mysteries also found their echo in Botticelli’s painting.

Birth of Venus
SANDRO BOTTICELLI
1483–1485. Canvas, tempera. 172.5x278.5

“The Birth of Venus,” like “Spring,” the artist wrote for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco Medici. The plot of this picture is based on the myth of how the goddess of love was born from the foam of the sea. Botticelli could have found a presentation of the myth from ancient authors or its reworking from the poet Angelo Poliziano, who worked at court.

...Attracts
Zephyr in love sinks the shell to the shore,
And their heavens rejoice at the run...
...And you can see that the goddess’s eyes are shining.
The sky and the elements are smiling before her.
There, in white, Ora walks along the shore...

Venus, standing in a shell, floats, urged on by Zephyr and Chloris, and Ora, one of the companions of the goddess, who holds a veil to envelop her, comes to meet her. The whimsical folds of bedspreads and clothes fluttering in the wind, the waves on the sea, the broken line of the shore, the “corrugated” shell of the shell, and finally the flying hair of Venus - all this sets off the smooth outlines of the goddess’s body and enhances the feeling of supreme harmony that her appearance evokes. The characters’ hands almost close above Venus’s head, and it seems as if an arch is overshadowing her, echoed by the rounded bottom of the shell. Thus, the figure of the goddess is closed into an imaginary oval. If in “Spring” the composition consists of several groups of equal meaning, then here Venus is the center to which everything strives.

For Renaissance artists, a naked Venus, as opposed to a clothed one, symbolized heavenly love. Botticelli endowed his heroine with that chastity that is revered as the highest virtue, hence the motif of worship present in the picture. The beautiful face of the heroine is reminiscent of the faces of Madonnas in Botticelli’s paintings, and therefore in this work a Christian theme sounds through the ancient theme, and the combination of ancient humanism and Christianity gave rise to the phenomenon of the Italian Renaissance.

Madonna and Child with Angels (Madonna del Magnificat)
SANDRO BOTTICELLI
1483. Wood, tempera. Diameter 118

“Magnificat” is the name of the Catholic song of praise to the Virgin Mary, given to this doxology according to the first line: “Magnificat anima mea Dominum” - “My soul magnifies the Lord,” therefore the painting has a second name, which is translated as “The Magnification of the Madonna.” In Botticelli, the Mother of God holds a pen in her hand, preparing to dip it in ink and then write down in the book the words from the Gospel of Luke, on which the chant is written.

The shape of the tondo - a round picture - was especially suitable for Botticelli's painting with its smooth, flowing lines, curves of bodies, bowed heads of the characters. In this case, the artist gives the entire composition rounded outlines, which are formed by the poses of the Madonna and Child, the bowed angel on the left, the hands of the angels meeting at the top, holding the crown and placing it on Mary’s head. In addition, the entire group is placed against the background of a round window, the landscape behind it also bends strangely, as if reflected in a convex mirror. This is one of Botticelli's most lyrical works, where music is embodied in composition, rhythm, colors, lines and facial expressions.

Sacred allegory
GIOVANNI BELLINI
1490–1499. Wood, oil. 73x119

Giovanni Bellini, whose work influenced all Venetian painting and, above all, its mood, left behind a mystery that still cannot be solved: what is the plot of the painting “The Sacred Allegory”? This abstract name was given to it because no one could definitely answer the question.

The artist depicted the so-called holy interview: the saints are sitting on the throne of the Mother of God. Among them one can distinguish Paul with a sword, driving away a man in a turban, Peter, leaning on the balustrade and guarding the entrance to the platform, Sebastian with an arrow in his chest, and Job, folding his hands in prayer. But the composition of the “holy interview”, which was always the central one when Bellini or other artists turned to this plot, is here turned sideways towards the viewer and becomes one of the presented motifs. Another is babies playing under a tree. In their group, the one who stands out is the one holding an apple in his hands, symbolizing human sins. This child could be Christ, who came into the world to atone for sins, and the babies around Him could be souls in purgatory, for whom the saints pray. The river is most likely Lethe, separating this world from the world of the living, which is visible in the middle and distant plans. There, an anchorite prays in a cave, a centaur, personifying temptations, wanders nearby, and even further away people live their ordinary lives.

But the Russian art critic Pavel Muratov was right when he wrote about Bellini: “And perhaps the key to his painting lies not so much in what is depicted, but in the very feeling with which everything here is permeated.<…>We understand the deep contemplative thought in which his saints are immersed, and the ethereal subtlety of infantile games with the golden apples of the dark-leaved mystical tree. In that country that opens beyond the sleeping mirror waters of Lethe, we will recognize our land of prayers and enchantments. There our souls wander in the solitude of the rocks when sleep frees them... At dawn they plunge into the waters of Lethea for the second time and emerge, keeping sadness, to the shore of life.”

Pieta
PIETRO PERUGINO
Around 1493–1494. Wood, oil, tempera. 168x176

The head of the Umbrian school of painting and Raphael’s teacher Pietro Perugino created paintings in which, for example, in the one presented, some special silence reigns. The word “pieta”, which translated from Italian means “compassion, pity”, is used in painting and sculpture to describe the scene of the Mother of God mourning the dead Christ lying on Her lap.

The picture is dominated by two mutually balanced compositional lines - the elongated body of the Savior and semicircular arches, which are echoed by the figure of Mary. Arch - symbol firmament and world harmony - by its very form it brings into the composition a feeling emphasizing that Christ’s sacrifice was not in vain. On His face there is peace, on the Mother of God there is a deep melancholy that finds no way out, and on the faces of John the Evangelist and the saint standing behind him there is an expression that can be defined by the classic line “my sadness is bright.” Sadness and, along with it, hope are felt both in the spring landscape in the distance and in the golden air enveloping everything depicted.

ART OF ITALY:
16th CENTURY AND LATER

Madonna and Child with Angels and Prophet (Madonna with a Long Neck)
PARMIGANINO (FRANCESCO MAZZOLA)
1534–1540. Wood, oil. 216x132

One of the leading artists of mannerism, Parmigianino, in contrast to the masters of the Renaissance, sought harmony in deliberately modified figures and objects, elongated and as if gravitating towards infinity. The painting “Madonna with a Long Neck” was painted by the master commissioned by his friend’s sister, Elena Baiardi, for the church of Santa Maria dei Servi in ​​Parma.

The bodies of those depicted are elongated (hence the second title of this work) and undulatingly curved. This is especially clearly seen in the figure of the angel standing in front. The feeling of surreal, magical that this work evokes is enhanced by the cold, mother-of-pearl colors, as well as the figure of St. Jerome, which is too small compared to the others, and the unfinished architectural background, either on purpose or because of the death of the master, where the columns turned out to be non-supporting . And at the same time, a single column takes on a special meaning here as a symbol of perseverance.

The vase in the hands of an angel depicts the Crucifixion. The theme of the Savior's future torment and death on the cross is also embodied in the pose of the sleeping Child, reminiscent of the iconography of the Pieta - the image of the Mother of God mourning the dead Christ, whom She holds on her knees.

ART OF ITALY (XVI CENTURY AND LATER):

• Madonna Doni (Holy Family). MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI
• Self-portrait. RAFAEL SANTI
• Madonna with the Goldfinch. RAFAEL SANTI
• Warrior and Squire (Gattamelata). GIORGIONE (?)
• Death of Adonis. SEBASTIANO DEL PIOMBO
• Perseus freeing Andromeda. PIERO DI COSIMO
• Flora. TITIAN VECELLIO
• Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere. TITIAN VECELLIO
• Venus of Urbino. TITIAN VECELLIO
• Madonna and Child (Madonna of the Harpies). ANDREA DEL SARTO
• Portrait of a girl with a book of Petrarch's poems. ANDREA DEL SARTO
• Portrait of Cosimo the Elder de' Medici. JACOPO PONTORMO
• Dinner at Emmaus. JACOPO PONTORMO
• Portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificent. GIORGIO VAZARI
• Portrait of Bia Medici. AGNOLO BRONZINO
• Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo with her son Giovanni de' Medici. AGNOLO BRONZINO
• Leda and the swan. JACOPO TINTORETTO
• Madonna del Popolo. FEDERICO BAROCCI
• Bacchus.
• Sacrifice of Isaac. MICHELANGELO MERISI DA CARAVAGGIO
• David with the head of Goliath. MICHELANGELO MERISI DA CARAVAGGIO
• Judith beheading Holofernes. ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI
• View of the Doge's Palace in Venice. ANTONIO CANAL (CANALETTO)
• Portrait of Felicita Sartori (?) in Turkish costume. ROSALBA CARRIERA

Madonna Doni (Holy Family)
MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI
1505–1506. Wood, oil, tempera. Diameter 120

This work is the only completed easel painting that has come down to us by Michelangelo, who focused primarily on sculpture, architecture and frescoes. In his monumental paintings, the figures resemble sculpture, and this is no coincidence: when asked by the writer Benedetto Varchi whether painting or sculpture is superior, Michelangelo replied: “Painting, it seems to me, is considered better when it leans more toward relief.”

So in the “Madonna Doni” or “Tondo Doni” (a tondo is a round-shaped painting or relief), the figures of the Madonna, Christ, St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist and the young men in the background are depicted in relief, sculpturally. However, this feature distinguished the entire painting school of Tuscany from, for example, the Venetian one. The central group resembles a sculptural composition: it is compact, and it seems that it can be walked around from all sides and examined. The architect’s thinking is also felt in this work, everything depicted is so stable and reliably “fixed” in space.

The painting of the picture resembles a monumental one, similar to those frescoes that Michelangelo completed on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in 1508–1512. The figures of the characters and the folds of the draperies of “Madonna Doni” are lapidary, that is, they are designed for long-distance viewing. The pose of the Mother of God is as complex as that of the Sistine characters, as if intended to echo the plasticity of a certain architecture. And with its spatial composition, going deep, the tondo looks like a painted ceiling lamp.

And yet, this is an easel painting, as evidenced by its coloring, which consists of deep and pure colors that are not so necessary in monumental painting, and the closed composition of the tondo, and the living characters of those depicted. Thus, Michelangelo, who called himself, first of all, a sculptor, proved that he was fluent in the techniques of easel painting, and showed all his talents in this work, as befitted a master of the High Renaissance.

Self-portrait
RAFAEL SANTI
1506. Wood, tempera. 47.5x33

A young man with an inspired face, the face of a young genius - this is Raphael, looking at us from a self-portrait. From his appearance emanate calm and heavenly harmony, which distinguishes all the artist’s paintings. The coloring of this picture is emphatically restrained - a neutral background, dark hair, the same cap. Between the dark robe and warm-colored skin one can see a narrow white stripe of a shirt - in this subtle transition from dull black to the lively tones of the face and neck - all of Raphael, who felt the deep laws of painting.

The artist placed a self-portrait, very similar to this one, only in a mirror spread, on the fresco “The School of Athens” (1508–1511) in the Vatican’s “Stanza della Segnatura”: on the right, in the image of the ancient Greek painter Apelles, the same image of Raphael, filled with high poetry, is visible.

Madonna with the Goldfinch
RAFAEL SANTI
1507. Wood, oil. 107x77

This is one of those images of the Madonna and Child and John the Baptist that Raphael created in Florence. It was commissioned from the artist by his friend, the merchant Lorenzo Nasi, for his own wedding. The painter used here the same triangular composition as in other paintings on this topic, thanks to which the image acquired balance and rare harmony.

Mary seems to cover the Infant Christ and little John. The soft lines of Her figure, the flowing folds of her robe, as well as the idyllic landscape in the background that has become typical of Raphael with smooth contours of the landscape, immersed in a light haze and melting into the distance, fill the picture with a mood of peace. But the goldfinch, a symbol of the Passion of Christ, in the hand of John the Baptist, towards whom the Child is reaching, introduces an alarming note into the image. At the same time, Madonna’s face, gentle, with downcast eyes, framed by soft hair, expresses calmness, which is transmitted to the viewer.

Warrior and Squire (Gattamelata)
GIORGIONE (?)
Around 1505–1510. Oil on canvas. 90x73

The canvas depicts the condottiere Erasmo de Narni, who lived almost a century before the painting was painted and received the nickname Gattamelata - “affectionate cat.” Coming from the lower strata of society, he became a hired soldier, served in different cities and different rulers, and rose to the rank of condottiere - the leader of a detachment who was in the service of the commune. In addition, he became the ruler of Padua, and his equestrian statue by Donatello is installed near the main Padua cathedral - the Papal Basilica of Sant'Antonio. The painting next to Gattamelata is probably his son Antonio.

Giorgione and his followers formed a whole movement in Venetian painting at the turn of the 15th–16th centuries, the distinctive feature of which was the contemplative mood of the characters depicted. So this warrior with a far from refined appearance, accustomed to a hard life full of risk, froze with such an expression on his face as if he were listening to music. His sword, armor and helmet are perceived as just symbols, and the boy is an angel standing over his shoulder.

Death of Adonis
SEBASTIANO DEL PIOMBO
1512. Oil on canvas. 189x285

Being a student of Giovanni Bellini and influenced by Giorgione, Sebastiano del Piombo adopted from them the softness of forms and lyrical mood, bringing them into his paintings. But while working in Rome, he was also influenced by the art of Raphael with his absolute harmony and Michelangelo, who endowed his characters with unprecedented power.

In the presented canvas, the artist turned to the myth of Adonis, the most beautiful young man, Aphrodite’s lover, killed by a boar while hunting. Del Piombo depicted the moment when Aphrodite learns of the death of Adonis, which Cupid informs her about, and most of the work is occupied by the deities sitting in the grove, and the dying hero is located at a distance. This technique - placing the climax of the entire scene at a certain distance, delaying its perception by the viewer - sharpens the anxious mood diffused in the picture and running like a wave through the characters.

In the background, the artist captured the view of Venice with the Doge's Palazzo and the bell tower of the Cathedral of San Marco, reflected in the calm waters of the lagoon. An evening landscape with a light blue sky, a golden sunset, white puffy clouds above and shadows running across the land and water fills everything depicted with a subtle sadness that Venetian artists loved to convey in their paintings.

Perseus freeing Andromeda
PIERO DI COSIMO
Around 1510–1515. Wood, oil. 70x120

Florentine artist Piero di Cosimo combined in his work the harmonious, spiritualized images of the High Renaissance with a love for detailed depictions of the surrounding world, which he adopted from Dutch painters.

In the presented painting, painted in the late period of creativity, the master used the ancient Greek myth of Perseus saving Andromeda. Returning after defeating the gorgon Medusa, the hero saw a girl tied to a rock. It was Andromeda, whom the inhabitants of her home country sacrificed to a sea monster that devoured people in order to get rid of it. Perseus, wearing his winged sandals and a magic helmet that made him invisible, is depicted in the painting twice - flying over the sea and standing on the back of a monster, swinging a sword. On the left Andromeda is suffering and frightened people are hiding behind their cloaks, and on the right the people are having fun and waving laurel branches, praising the hero.

The inclusion of events of different times in the composition and their interpretation, reminiscent of a fairy tale, testify to the not yet extinguished traditions of the previous century - the Quattrocento, but the soft outlines of the figures and the landscape open in the distance indicate that this work was created in the era of the High Renaissance.

Flora
TITIAN VECELLIO
Around 1515–1517. Oil on canvas. 79.7x63.5

Who is depicted in the presented painting by Titian, a Venetian artist of the High Renaissance, has long been debated. At one time it was believed that this was the daughter of the artist Palma the Elder, the work itself was attributed to him, then, when it was again recognized as the work of Titian, the debate about the heroine of the painting continued. The idea of ​​identifying the captured girl with Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, was suggested by the bouquet in her hand. And the whole appearance of this young, blooming, dreamy creature with flowing hair, in a white shirt falling from one shoulder, is truly associated with an ancient goddess.

At the same time, this is a portrait of a real Venetian woman, with golden hair, according to the fashion of that time, and light velvety skin. It is quite possible that the young Titian painted it, fantasizing about the theme of antiquity, and the result was a living, full-blooded and at the same time elevated above reality image.

Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere
TITIAN VECELLIO
1536–1537. Oil on canvas. 114x103

Typically, Titian, creating paintings on mythological and Christian subjects, as well as fantasy portraits like “Flora,” was free in pictorial means. But by portraying noble people, he seemed to become the socialite he was in life. Loving life and knowing how to enjoy it, he nevertheless knew well what the conventions of etiquette were. Therefore, the portrait shows, first of all, an aristocrat from a noble Italian family, sitting in a ceremonial pose and dressed in a luxurious outfit. The artist carefully conveyed the looseness of velvet, the shine of gold, and the airiness of lace.

Titian emphasizes Eleanor's dignity and through it her virtue, this concept was important for the Renaissance. The model’s face is impassive, and only a gentle blush on her white skin and brown eyes, glowing with intelligence and strength, enliven it and make you feel the character of a woman who exists within the framework prescribed to her by class. If it is true that Eleanor served as Titian’s muse when painting such paintings as “The Girl in a Fur Cape” and especially “Venus of Urbino,” then one can imagine the range of possibilities of this painter: he was able to fantasize about the appearance of the women he liked, and paint strict ceremonial portraits.

Venus of Urbino
TITIAN VECELLIO
1538. Oil on canvas. 119x165

The antique theme, which often arose in Titian’s work, allowed this life-loving Venetian to pour out on canvas all his admiration for the world and his ability to appreciate its beauty. The master loved antiquity as something living and therefore boldly placed characters from Greek or Roman mythology in a contemporary setting.

His "Venus", acquired by Guidobaldo della Rovere, Duke of Urbino and therefore given its current name, represents a young Venetian woman, a beauty with a lively look, a delicate body and golden hair. Her pose is reminiscent of the classic “Pudica Venus” type, that is, “bashful,” but this girl, even if she is a little embarrassed, is fully aware of her beauty. The painting echoes Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus, kept in the Dresden Art Gallery, but Titian has more sensuality in the guise of the goddess. However, this sensuality is deceptive. The artist chose a room where everything exudes the comfort of a strong home: in the background, a maid is looking for something in a chest, and another is looking at her in anticipation. There is a myrtle on the window - a symbol of married life, white sheets are laid on the bed and white pillows are thrown, speaking of the purity of the woman lying on them, at whose feet a dog is curled up, symbolizing devotion. Thus, the hidden meaning of the picture must be understood as marital love.

Madonna and Child (Madonna of the Harpies)
ANDREA DEL SARTO
1517. Oil on canvas. 207x178

Andrea del Sarto worked at a time when Renaissance painting was at its zenith, so the artist’s work bears all the features of that art. This was especially evident in the harmony and sublimity of the images in the paintings. But at the same time, the master’s works show signs of an already emerging mannerism: elongated figures, obvious “stagedness” of scenes, emphasized grace of poses and gestures, and a subtle “sweetness” that marks the appearance of the characters.

The presented work was performed for the Church of San Francesco in Florence, so the canvas also depicts St. Francis. On the right is St. John the Evangelist. The title of the painting refers to the strange winged creatures carved in high relief on the pedestal. Giorgio Vasari believed that these were harpies - monsters from Greek mythology, birds with the heads of women. But most likely this is an image of locusts from the Apocalypse, as indicated by the figure of John the Evangelist, in whose Revelation it is said: “And locusts came out of the smoke onto the earth, and they were given the power that the scorpions of the earth have” (Revelation 9:3). By depicting the Mother of God standing above the symbols of future disasters, the artist emphasized Her role as the savior of the righteous.

Portrait of a girl with a book of Petrarch's poems
ANDREA DEL SARTO
1528. Wood, tempera. 87x69

Paintings filled with grandeur and a lyrical, warm portrait of a girl are the two poles in the work of Andrea del Sarto, a Florentine artist of the High Renaissance. However, warmth and homeliness are present in this portrait also because the master painted the daughter of his beloved wife Lucretia from his first marriage - stepdaughter Maria, whom he raised as his own.

The girl, looking cunningly at the viewer, holds in her hands a volume of Petrarch’s love sonnets. For the first time she touches the secrets of feeling that excite and beckon her; the heroine wants to hide her discovery and cannot do this, awkwardly pointing her finger at the lines she is reading. All this is captured so accurately by the artist that a seemingly ordinary plot with a girl in love, involuntarily hinting at her elevated inner state, evokes a warm and tremulous mood in the viewer. Few people achieved such depth in revealing the inner world of a young being during the time of Andrea del Sarto.

Portrait of Cosimo the Elder de' Medici
JACOPO PONTORMO
1519–1520. Wood, oil. 86x65

In this early work of Jacopo Pontormo there are already signs of Mannerism, of which he would become one of the founders. It was the manner of the image, that is, the way it was written, that attracted the artist.

The portrait of Cosimo the Elder de' Medici was created more than half a century after the founder of the Medici dynasty, a banker and merchant who became the ruler of Florence, passed away. In the posthumous depiction of a person, the master could give himself some freedom.

The portrait was commissioned by the secretary of the Duke of Urbino, Lorenzo de' Medici, one of Cosimo's descendants, probably for the birth of his son. Cosimo sits in a chair, in front of him is a branch of a laurel tree, the emblem of the family, around which curls a paper ribbon with verses from Virgil’s Aeneid. In the hunched, thin figure of the person depicted and in his face, one can feel the fatigue of the stormy years lived; his hands, like those of someone who is used to commanding and does not want to part with power, are clenched. Cosimo's red robe, standing out against the dark background, introduces an alarming note into the canvas and conveys the drama that marks the human condition.

Dinner at Emmaus
JACOPO PONTORMO
1525. Oil on canvas. 230x173

In this painting, Jacopo Pontormo depicts the moment described in the Gospel of Luke, when the risen Christ, who appeared to two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus and was not recognized by them, agrees to share the evening meal with them: “And as He reclined with them, He took bread , blessed, broke and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him” (Luke 24:30).

The painter depicted Christ taller than the rest of the participants in the scene, but He is on the same level as the viewer, and the floor, table and characters sitting at him are seen slightly from above. From this, the entire composition is literally drawn towards the figure of the Savior. Pontormo introduced into his work features of the everyday genre, noticeable in the poses of the students, in the way one of them pours wine and the second holds bread. But above the head of Christ is depicted the all-seeing eye of God in a triangle, surrounded by radiance and symbolizing the Trinity, and this returns the viewer to its sublime plane.

Portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificent
GIORGIO VAZARI
Around 1533–1534. Wood, oil. 90x72

The architect, artist and pioneering historian of Italian art, Giorgio Vasari, painted this portrait commissioned by Alessandro Medici many years after the death of the man depicted in it.

Lorenzo the Magnificent was the grandson of Cosimo the Elder de' Medici and concentrated all power over Florence in his hands, but at the same time patronized artists and poets and wrote poetry himself. His reign was the “golden age” of Florentine art. But this portrait shows a tired-looking, brooding man, indifferent to both the fame and wealth that the red purse hints at, and even the fact that he was declared “the vessel of all virtues”, as evidenced by the inscription behind. Vasari expressed in the picture a longing for a time when painting, poetry and the words of humanists found a response in the soul of the ruler.

Russian art critic Pavel Muratov wrote about Lorenzo as he was in his declining years: “The Florence of that time was still breathing with him; he made her image imperishable. Even to the consciousness of the nearest generations, Florence of the Quattrocento, the Florence of Lorenzo the Magnificent, seemed like the appearance of an ancient deity in a man who visited Italian soil. Simply speaking to her was uplifting. When, half a century later... Giorgio Vasari took up the portrait of Lorenzo, now located in the Uffizi, the genius of old Florence was strangely resurrected in him..."

Portrait of Bia Medici
AGNOLO BRONZINO
1542. Wood, tempera. 64x48

Agnolo Bronzino, who worked for Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, like many court artists, sought to convey in portraits not so much the inner world of a person as the feeling of those whom he captured of their high position. Hence the certain detachment of the people he depicts. But in the presented portrait, the girl, despite all the solemnity of her pose and the slightly “closed” expression on her face, is full of charm, like any child. At the same time, some kind of sadness emanates from her. Maybe the fact is that this is a posthumous portrait of Cosimo I’s daughter Bianca, who was diminutively called Bia. She was born before her father's marriage to Eleanor of Toledo from a woman whose name was known only to the Duke himself and his mother. Biya died as a child, her father ordered her portrait from Bronzino, and the artist painted a little girl with rosy, plump cheeks and an adult look, seemingly looking at the viewer, but also past him.

Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo with her son Giovanni Medici
AGNOLO BRONZINO
1545. Oil on canvas. 115x96

Agnolo Bronzino was a representative of mannerism, a picturesque movement that arose in the depths of the High Renaissance, which was approaching its decline. Mannerism placed art above nature, hence the certain coldness that emanates from the artist’s works. At the same time, his portraits are full of that knowledge about a person that is available only to great masters.

Bronzino painted Eleanor of Toledo, the daughter of the Neapolitan viceroy and wife of Cosimo I de' Medici, and her children more than once, but this portrait is perhaps the best. She is presented here as the ruler of Tuscany. The woman is dressed in a luxurious dress made of silver brocade with gold embroidery, she has a pearl net on her head, pearl necklaces on her chest, her face is whitened and has a distant expression. But the plump baby, whom Eleanor hugs to herself, makes us forget about her title and see that before us, first of all, is a mother (she gave birth to eleven children), who loves her child and worries about him. The maternal anxiety, which she could not hide even for the sake of etiquette, was noticed in the woman’s gaze by Bronzino. It turns out that the entire luxurious outfit of the Duchess is a kind of distraction that forces the viewer to look at secondary things, in order to then meet Eleanor’s eyes and understand that this picture was created by an artist who deeply understood the person.

Leda and the swan
JACOPO TINTORETTO
1555. Oil on canvas.162x218

This Venetian painter created large canvases in which the poses and gestures of the characters are complex and expressive, and light fights darkness. In this case, Tintoretto turned to the ancient myth of how Zeus, or Jupiter among the Romans, captivated by the beauty of Leda, appeared to her in the form of a swan. The ancient Roman poet Ovid wrote in the Heroides:

What to remember about the deception of the white-feathered bird of streams
And grieve what the swan of Jupiter hid in himself?

The plot was popular among Italian artists because of the ability to convey a shade of sensual love, depict a beautiful naked body of a woman, and finally bring a special plasticity to the picture. In Tintoretto, the swan reaches out to Leda, who herself resembles this graceful bird. According to legend, the action took place on the Eurotas River, where Leda was swimming, but the artist moved the scene to the room of a rich Venetian house. The beauty is reclining on the bed, behind her is a velvet curtain that sets off the whiteness of the body and emphasizes its smoothness and tenderness. On the left is a maid who, not knowing what kind of swan it is, is about to put it in a cage. The action of the maid, from whom Leda hides her lover, enhances the moment of mystery present in the picture.

Madonna del Popolo
FEDERICO BAROCCI
1575–1579. Oil on canvas. 359x252

The origins of the Baroque can be clearly seen in the paintings of Federico Barocci, who created large, emotionally expressive canvases with many characters and complex compositions. This art flourished in papal Rome during the era of the Counter-Reformation, when the Catholic Church sought to strengthen its position in every possible way and wanted powerful painting that appealed to believers.

Barocci depicts Christ, before whom the Mother of God kneels and prays to the Son for humanity (hence the title of the painting: “popolo” translated from Italian means “people”). A variety of people crowd below: a cripple, a blind musician, a noble lady with children, a simple woman with a child. The film also resonated with the theme of the “seven acts of mercy,” which, according to the teachings of the Catholic Church, lead to salvation. Therefore, for example, a richly dressed boy is depicted here giving alms to a poor woman.

The whole picture is full of movement, the architecture in the background strangely shifts in space, giving the impression of something illusory. This feature was also characteristic of mannerism - the direction from which baroque also grew.

Bacchus
MICHELANGELO MERISI DA CARAVAGGIO
Around 1595–1597. Oil on canvas. 95x85

Standing at the origins of the Baroque, Caravaggio painted this picture in a still relatively serene period of his life. Hence the choice of theme - Bacchus, the Greek god of wine and fun, in whose image the master showed a young man with a languid look, tenderly holding out a glass of wine to the viewer.

His strong, muscular body is radiant with health, a gentle blush plays on his cheeks, his plump lips are juicy, and the color of the canvas leaves a feeling of celebration. But the fruit in the vase standing in front of Bacchus is not so fresh: the apple is rotten, there is a wormhole on it. And the grape leaves in the hero’s wreath are already withering. Caravaggio was not afraid to depict life as it is, he keenly felt its hidden drama, which was reflected in his subsequent art, which influenced all European painting. The artist returned to the theme of the cheerful ancient god once again, but painted himself in his image, physically and mentally exhausted by illness (the canvas “Sick Bacchus”, stored in the Borghese Gallery in Rome).

Sacrifice of Isaac
MICHELANGELO MERISI DA CARAVAGGIO
1601–1602. Oil on canvas. 104x135

The increasing drama in Caravaggio’s work was fully manifested in the presented work, all the more so because of its plot. The painting was painted for Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, whose patronage the artist enjoyed. He depicted the moment when the biblical elder Abraham is about to sacrifice his son Isaac, as God ordered, in order to ascertain the depth of his faith.

In the shortest possible time period, Caravaggio managed to accommodate several intense actions performed by the characters: the father, holding the head of his bound son with his hand, raised a knife over him, the son screams in fear, but an angel sent by God stops Abraham and points him to the sacrificial ram. The picture is so filled with emotions that even the angel looks worried, and the lamb with an anxious look stretches his head, as if begging to be put in Isaac’s place. The composition unfolding horizontally stretches out all the characters’ actions in time, forcing both them and the viewer to experience the drama presented here even more intensely. It is not without reason that Baroque painting, of which Caravaggio was the founder and one of the brightest representatives, was characterized by tension of passions.

But the artist did not just depict human experiences at a specific moment - he went further, deepening them psychologically. Thus, Abraham’s face reflects the ardent faith and fatherly love battling within him. The landscape plunging into twilight in the background enhances the drama, but the city on the mountain and the bright distance of the sky emphasize the successful outcome that is about to come.

David with Goliath's head
MICHELANGELO MERISI DA CARAVAGGIO
1605. Oil on canvas. 222x147

An artist of the Bolognese school, where academicism flourished, Guido Reni was also influenced by Caravaggio. He adopted the master’s belief that art should be as close to reality as possible, so there is no need to be afraid to depict even unpleasant or scary things. This synthesis of passionate, realistic painting and academic style was embodied in Reni's painting "David with the Head of Goliath."

One of the features of Caravaggism was the contrasting lighting that the artist uses here, but his light is not as warm as Caravaggio’s, but rather cold. The biblical shepherd boy David, who defeated the giant, stands in an elegant pose, wearing a cap with a feather, and looks distantly at the head of his enemy, painted in naturalistic detail. The tradition of depicting David as a beautiful young man was established in Italian art back in the 15th century, as exemplified by the statue of Donatello. But the contrast between the young, blossoming hero, personifying life itself, and the terrible head of the murdered giant, on which Reni’s work is based, was characteristic of the art of mannerism and academicism.

Judith beheading Holofernes
ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI
1620. Oil on canvas. 199x162.5

The daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, the best of those who belonged to the school of Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi inherited all the features of this direction. They appeared in the presented picture.

For the canvas, the artist chose the moment when the Israeli Judith, who seduced the Assyrian commander Holofernes, whose army besieged her hometown, kills him. Gentileschi depicts the bloody scene in frightening detail: the maid tries to hold Holofernes, distraught with fear, and Judith grabs him by the hair and plunges a sword blade into his neck.

The paintings of Caravaggio, who also depicted Judith and Holofernes, David with the head of Goliath, were distinguished by intense drama. The influence of this master explains both the complex poses in Gentileschi’s painting and the bright white light, like a flash of lightning, snatching figures from the darkness. Like her correspondence teacher, Gentileschi skillfully depicts the human body, sometimes strong and tense, like the hands of Judith, sometimes soft and almost limp, like the shoulders and legs of Holofernes.

The composition developing around an invisible axis, the forced emotions of the characters, a certain theatricality inherent in the depicted - these are signs of Baroque art, in which the artist showed herself.

View of the Doge's Palace in Venice
ANTONIO CANAL (CANALETTO)
Before 1755. Oil on canvas. 51x83

In 18th-century Venice, vedutes, that is, images of city views, were popular. This tradition originated in the art of the 15th century artists Gentile Bellini and Vittore Carpaccio. But if for them both the person and the city were equivalent, then for the masters of the Venetian veduta the city becomes the main thing. One of the best representatives of this genre is Canaletto. He loved to paint the vast space where Venice fit between the water and the sky, and often depicted the lagoon, San Marco Cathedral, and the Doge's Palace. The buildings in this picture are reflected in the water and “look” into the sky. If another Veduta master, Francesco Guardi, in his canvases everything seems to be saturated with the moisture of the canals and the nearby sea, then in Canaletto the three elements - water, earth and air - are equivalent. His land is not an unsteady strip at the edge of the waters, the architecture looks solemnly revealing itself, and everything is united by the golden light pouring from the sky onto the blessed land of the “Serenissima” - “The Most Serene”, as Venice is called.

Portrait of Felicita Sartori (?) in Turkish costume
ROSALBA CARRIERA
1730s. Paper, pastel. 70x55

The portraits that Rosalba Carriera painted carry all the features of Venetian painting with its subtle color, light and air. The artist is one of the representatives of the Rococo style, the distinctive feature of which is light, translucent (in Carriera - thanks to the pastel technique) tones and playful subjects. Actually, all Venetian painting of the 18th century was close in structure to Rococo. In it, as in this light art, there is a lot of carnival: after Venice ceased to play one of the leading roles in the political theater of Europe, it itself increasingly turned into a theater, into a ghost town, where masquerade began to look like a natural pastime. The girl in the painting, dressed in Turkish attire and holding a mask in her hand, is part of this carnival.

Mother-of-pearl, pink, blue are some of the favorite colors of the Rococo masters. The bend of the model's body, the turn of her head, her glance to the side are also typically rocaille.

ART OF THE NETHERLANDS, HOLLAND AND FLANDERS

Self-portrait
REMBRANDT HARMENS VAN RHYNE
Around 1639. Oil on wood. 62.5x54

Rembrandt was the artist in the new European painting who sought to penetrate the depths of the human soul, which is why he painted so many self-portraits, as if he were talking to himself. In his youth, while still happy and even carefree, he liked to portray himself dressed up and slightly posing. “Rembrandt loved to dress up and change clothes, like a real actor,” noted the French writer and artist Eugene Fromentin. “He wore turbans, velvet berets, felt hats, camisoles, raincoats... He attached jewelry to his hair, put gold chains with stones around his neck.” But at the same time, the artist sought to penetrate into the secrets of a person’s secrets, which is evident in this “Self-Portrait”.
Painting himself in bloom, the master tried to keep youth and beauty on the canvas, because they pass. Man as he is - weak, at the mercy of time and yet strong, as long as he feels the beat of life within himself - here main topic Rembrandt painting.

ART OF THE NETHERLANDS, HOLLAND AND FLANDERS:

• Position in the coffin. ROGIR VAN DER WEYDEN
• Adoration of the Shepherds (Altar of Portinari). HUGO VAN DER GUS
• Saint Benedict. HANS MEMLING
• Annunciation. MATTIAS STOHMER
• Portrait of Isabella Brant. PETER PAUL RUBENS
• Portrait of Margaret of Lorraine, Duchess of Orleans. ANTHONY VAN DYCK

Entombment
ROGIR VAN DER WEYDEN
Around 1450. Wood, oil. 100x96

In his painting, Rogier van der Weyden, an artist of the early Dutch Renaissance, knew how to depict different human moods. In the presented altarpiece, probably created during a trip to Italy, the painter conveyed deep suffering and at the same time clothed it in wondrous colors and lines.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, doing their best to hide their state of mind, carry the thin and emaciated body of Christ to the tomb; John bowed down to kiss His hand; Mary Magdalene knelt in confusion, the Mother of God with an exhausted face gently supports the hand of her Son. The strong religious feeling that guided Rogier van der Weyden's brush illuminates everything here, and that is why he, in spite of everything, gives beauty to the dramatic scene. The poses, for example, of John, are graceful, the gestures are smooth, the colors are pure, and the sun-drenched landscape in the distance takes your breath away.

The French historian and philosopher Hippolyte Taine wrote about the Dutch artists of that time: “Pay attention to their unusually rich and bright colors, to pure and powerful tones... to the magnificent breaks of purple robes, to the azure recesses of long flowing clothes, to draperies green as a meadow , penetrated by the sun's rays... into a powerful light that warms and gilds the whole picture..."

Adoration of the Shepherds (Altar of Portinari)
HUGO VAN DER GUS
Around 1476–1478. Wood, oil. 253x588

The master of the Northern Renaissance, Hugo van der Goes, knew how to reflect in his works the surrounding world with all its details and at the same time look at what was depicted from the height that was inherent in the Renaissance. The artist had a genuine interest in the inner world of the people he painted, and the quality described was Renaissance in nature. All this was especially fully manifested in the presented triptych.

The altar is dedicated to the worship of the shepherds to the Infant Christ, on the side doors there are donors depicted - Tommaso Portinari, his wife Maria Baroncelli, their children and saints, and on the back of the doors the Annunciation is presented. The Italian Tommaso Portinari, who headed the representative office of the Medici Bank in the Belgian city of Bruges, ordered this altar for the Church of Sant'Egidio in Florence.

Main part The altar represents a vast space, in the center of which lies the Infant Christ, looking especially small in comparison with the figures of the Mother of God, Joseph and the shepherds. The Italian master in this case would have painted a plump and large child to emphasize him unusual origin, but the Dutch artist is faithful to the realities of life, therefore, in the altar image of Van der Goes, the newborn baby is small, he has the hazy look of a person who has just been born and weak movements of his arms and legs. By depicting God who came into the world in the form of a tiny, touching child, the artist set a special mood for the work - tenderness.

This feeling is expressed subtly, since no one here is openly moved: the Mother of God is immersed in contemplation of the Son, the angels carefully begin to pray, and there is deep thoughtfulness and seriousness on the faces of the other characters. But by the way Joseph’s hair is scattered, who did not have time to smooth it out of excitement, by his hands carefully folded in prayer, by the impulse in which the shepherds bow before the Baby, one can feel a joyful shock, giving way to touch in the souls of all these people. And only one of the shepherds with a rude, common face, who did not have time to kneel down and fold his hands in prayer, looks at what is happening, literally opening his mouth in amazement. The artist is attentive to all these details, since they create the mood of the painting, like the flowers in the vase in the foreground, partially crumbled, and the embroidered robes of the angels on the right, and the beautiful landscape permeated with light in the background.

When the altar was brought across the sea to Florence in 1483, it amazed those who saw it and had a great influence on Italian painting.

Saint Benedict
HANS MEMLING
1487. Wood, oil. 45.5x34.5

The work of Rogier van der Weyden's student, Hans Memling, belonged to a new period in Dutch painting of the 15th century, which was already under considerable influence of Italian, as can be judged by the presented portrait.

Saint Benedict is the founder of Western monasticism and the author of the charter that formed the basis of his community life. Memling depicted Benedict in a black monastic robe, with a staff, carefully reading the Bible. The saint seems to whisper divine words. The artist conveyed in the appearance of this ascetic and hermit the expression that appears on the face of a person immersed in reading and admiring what is written. The soft black and white painting of the face and hands of St. Benedict makes one feel his image even more, the silence and concentration of which is echoed by the evening landscape outside the window.

Annunciation
MATTIAS STOHMER
1633–1637/1638 (?). Oil on canvas. 113x166

Matthias Stomer was one of those called “Caravaggists,” that is, a follower of the Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, whose paintings the Dutchman could see during his stay in Naples. From him, Stomer also adopted the features of chiaroscuro that he used in this picture.

The Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel, who appeared to Her, are illuminated by the flame of a candle standing on the table, snatching their figures from the darkness of the room. The wavering light enhances the tension of the entire scene, read in Mary’s facial expression and Her gesture. Everything Stomer depicts looks magical in this light. But the artist, resorting to this method of lighting, not only creates a mood, but also solves purely pictorial problems. The hands and faces of the characters acquire warmth, and it seems that the pulsating blood is visible through the transparent skin. The viewer feels like he is standing very close to this table, that is, a witness to what is happening. This effect was achieved in painting by Caravaggio himself and everyone who was under his influence.

Portrait of Isabella Brant
PETER PAUL RUBENS
Around 1625–1626. Oil on canvas. 86x62

An artist who created many canvases in which abundant flesh reigns, Rubens was at the same time a subtle portrait painter. He wrote mostly to his family and several times, such as his first wife, Isabella Brant. Rubens made this portrait shortly before her death. After the death of his wife, he spoke about her in one of his letters: “Truly I have lost an excellent friend... she was neither harsh nor weak, but so kind and so honest, so virtuous that everyone loved her alive and mourns her dead.”

But while the artist’s faithful friend is alive, he captures her young and attractive, with lively, intelligent eyes and a gentle smile. An invisible light seems to emanate from Isabella. Rubens does not separate the carnal and the spiritual in a person: the spirit blows through matter. Therefore, the master tried in every possible way to emphasize the physical beauty of his beloved, for example, he shaded her white delicate skin, as he often did, with a dark fur coat. The red background echoes the blush on the cheeks, and the necklace and lace create something like precious frame for the wife so dear to the artist’s heart.

Portrait of Margaret of Lorraine, Duchess of Orléans
ANTHONY VAN DYCK
1634. Oil on canvas. 204x117

Anthony van Dyck painted a lot of portraits of royalty, but by capturing them in solemn poses, he tried to convey the inner world of the people depicted.

The vertically elongated format characteristic of many of this artist’s paintings emphasizes the majesty and at the same time the sophistication of the woman depicted. Margarita’s white, porcelain-like skin is set off by a dark dress, and her beautifully shaped head, neck and hands with long fingers fingering the velvet fabric look even more elegant due to the splendor of the robe.

The canvas is designed in several colors - white, black, light brown, flesh; this restrained coloring is enlivened by the red drapery on the left pulled back and revealing the landscape stretching out in the distance. Roses in a girl’s hand can symbolize love or emphasize her youth and attractiveness, which are especially visible even in a ceremonial portrait.

HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER

The portraits created by Hans Holbein are distinguished by great psychologism and, at the same time, by that measure of generalization that lifts those depicted above everyday life.

This painting, painted at the time Holbein became court painter to Henry VIII, depicts Sir Richard Southwell. He served at court, was a member of parliament and a military man, participating in several campaigns. The neutral background and almost monochrome color scheme of the work allow the viewer to focus on the face of the person depicted. The artist accurately conveys all the details of Southwell’s appearance, as well as his calm and confident character, which is typical of people who have seen a lot in life. But the character in the picture, no matter how close he is to the viewer, is isolated from him: he intensely looks somewhere into the distance, thinking about his own things.

The ability to reveal a person’s soul and at the same time slightly elevate him distinguished Holbein as one of the masters of the Renaissance.

Adoration of the Magi
ALBRECHT DURER
1504. Wood, oil. 99x113.5

The German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer was commissioned by the Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise, for the chapel of his castle in Wittenberg. Dürer had just returned from his first trip to Italy, so the features of Northern European painting - detailed depiction of details, bright, shining colors - coexist here with the influence of Italian painting, which was expressed in the perspective construction of the composition. In addition, the picture shows the ruins of ancient buildings, creating complex spatial plans, which again was characteristic of Italian painting.

“The Adoration of the Magi” is reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci’s unfinished painting of a similar subject, also kept in the Uffizi. But Dürer was directly influenced by the Venetians - Andrea Mantegna with his passion for the abundance of stone in his paintings and Giovanni Bellini with his light and clear painting. However, Durer's characters are written with that degree of psychologism that was especially characteristic of him.

The artist introduced touching moments into the scene of worship: the Infant Christ opens the casket, where lies the gold brought to Him by one of the Magi, with the curiosity with which all children are drawn to the unknown, and the old Magi looks at this child with a serious and inspired look, slightly tilting his head to the side . Like many artists of the Northern Renaissance, Durer does not deviate from the detail that the Magi came to Christ from different parts of the world, which means that there could have been a black man among them.

Despite the abundance of details, the picture is full of sublime spirit, a soft and at the same time solemn mood, which was characteristic of the painting of this German master.

Martyrdom of Saint Florian
ALBRECHT ALTDORFER
Around 1520. Wood, oil. 76x67

The work of the German Renaissance artist and head of the Danube school Albrecht Altdorfer was part of a large painting cycle, now dispersed among various museums and representing scenes from the life of St. Florian.

Sacred legend says that this Roman soldier, who lived in the 3rd–4th centuries, secretly converted to Christianity and tried to save Christians in the Upper Austrian lands from execution, for which he was sentenced to death. They tied a stone around his neck and threw him into the river. Altdorfer depicted Florian on the bridge, kneeling, with a huge millstone tied to his neck. The tormentors and just onlookers crowded around. The artist presented the entire scene as seen from below, which is why a breathtaking landscape opens up in the span of the bridge: the waters of the river are transparent, forming eddies around the supports, distant blue mountains are drowning in the sunny haze, and a castle can be seen at the top. The world in Altdorfer's paintings looks magically beautiful, even when he depicts martyrdom. By raising the entire scene compositionally, the painter thereby expressed the greatness of the feat accomplished by Florian, and the world shining around him emphasizes the spiritual beauty of the saint.

Self-portrait
HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER
1542. Paper, pastel. 32x26

A small self-portrait of the artist was created using the meager means to which Hans Holbein increasingly resorted over the years. Usually his portraits depict models against a neutral background, but in this case it is golden, reminiscent of medieval art, where such a background symbolized the heavens. This technique transfers the entire image to a certain sublime plane.

Holbein carefully conveyed the details of his own appearance: a wide face, slightly squinting eyes, a short fluffy beard and other features. In his gaze one can see concentration, sincere interest, and, at the same time, this is the gaze of a person who sees everything around from a wide angle. This is how artists look at the world - both up close and embracing it as a huge panorama.

Portrait of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon
LUCAS CRANCH SR.
1543. Wood, oil. 16x21

The German painter and graphic artist of the Renaissance Cranach worked for many years, until the end of his life, at the court of the Saxon Elector Frederick the Wise. In Wittenberg, a city that, thanks to the efforts of its ruler, became one of the centers of European humanism, the artist became friends with the founder of German Protestantism and a major figure in the Reformation, Martin Luther and his associate theologian Philip Melanchthon.

The master painted both portraits of his friends in the same style: he placed figures in dark clothes on a neutral background and highlighted the faces of those being portrayed. Luther, concentrated and determined, looks into the distance, Melanchthon is deep in himself. The artist also conveyed the physiognomic features of each: one is plump, with a soft outline of the cheeks and neck and a stubborn chin, the second is thin, with sharp facial features. Cranach emphasizes in both, first of all, the human, individual principle, which was especially important for the masters of the Northern Renaissance. Thanks to the artist's commitment to realism, the viewer can clearly imagine what these people who made history were like.
Portrait of the Countess de Chinchon.
FRANCISCO GOYA

The elongated format of the painting and the deepening darkness as a background give the Countess’s figure a special fragility, emphasized by a light, airy dress of a light gray-brown color with pink veins and a hairstyle in which the wind seems to be hidden. In the whole appearance of the girl, even if she is of royal descent, one can feel sadness, visible both in her lively brown eyes and in her folded hands, which Maria Teresa seems to be deliberately trying to squeeze tighter. The Countess was then going through not the best time in her life: her husband, the all-powerful Prime Minister of the Spanish government, Don Manuel Godoy, had an imperious character, and in addition, this man was the queen’s lover. Goya had already painted the Countess, and now, knowing this young woman well and treating her with sympathy, he noticed her deeply hidden sadness. The portrait, conceived as a ceremonial portrait, shows the viewer a lively and charming person.
EL GRECO (DOMENIKOS THEOTOCOPOULOS)
Around 1600. Oil on canvas. 110x86

El Greco's painting is referred to either as Mannerism or Baroque; in fact, it does not belong to either movement. The originality of this artist’s manner is also expressed in the presented painting.

El Greco depicted Saint John the Evangelist talking with Saint Francis. At John’s feet his symbol is placed - an eagle, and in his hands the apostle holds a cup from which a dragon emerges. The Master recalls here the story of how a disciple of Christ, preaching His word, was captured and sent to Rome, where he was given a cup of poison. Having drunk it, John remained unharmed. In the picture, the cup in the hand symbolizes the church, and the dragon, which over time replaced the snake in this iconography, symbolizes evil conquered by faith. An example of such faith is St. Francis.

The elongated figures of the characters, typical of El Greco's paintings, resemble flames above candles. The earth, stretching out at the feet of the saints, emphasizes the scale of their images, and the background is the blue of heaven with dense clouds along which John and Francis could ascend to heaven.

Portrait of Maria Theresa de Bourbon y Vallabriga on horseback
FRANCISCO GOYA
1783. Oil on canvas. 82x61

One of the most mysterious Spanish artists, Francisco Goya worked a lot at the royal court, where he painted this portrait of Maria Teresa de Bourbon y Vallabriga, the future Countess de Chinchon, depicting her on horseback and against the backdrop of a mountainous landscape. Dark clouds are running across the sky, their shadows are running across the ground, and nature is gripped by that anxious state that happens on the eve of a storm. But the young woman tries to be collected and stay firmly in the saddle. She is depicted in profile, which gives her appearance some emphasis.

However, the girl’s figure is painted with light strokes, the lace on her chest foams and the velvet of her dress shimmers. Marie-Theresa's face is touched with blush, she looks all tender and reverent, surrounded by harsh nature with a rocky landscape and rocky mountains. Goya, who had a sincere interest in people, was able to express even in this painting, reminiscent of a sketch, that fragility and at the same time strength of a person, which evoke a very warm feeling.

Born in Switzerland, Jean-Etienne Lyotard studied painting in France, then traveled and returned to Paris. There he acquired a patron in the person of Madame de Pompadour, who set the tone in French high society. Since then, the artist painted many beauties of the royal family and ladies who shone at court. One of these portraits represents Marie Adelaide of France, daughter of King Louis XV.

Lyotard depicted a charming young creature sitting on a sofa with a book in her hand and dressed in a Turkish costume. After several years spent in Constantinople, the artist had a passion for oriental attire and dressed himself in them. When painting Maria Adelaide, the painter conveyed the thin, velvety skin of the princess and the light fabric of her costume. The light from the window falls so that the girl’s face remains in shadow, and her cheek, small ear with a dangling earring and neck are illuminated, making the image even more tender and touching. The softness of the sofa cushions enhances the mood of bliss diffused in this picture, but at the same time Lyotard introduced some “contradictions” into his work: Marie-Adelaide, dressed as if for a masquerade ball, sits on the sofa, immersed in reading, which is not enough corresponds to the aroma of sensuality diffused around her. This counterpoint creates a slight tension in the painting, which was characteristic of Rococo art.
Girl with a shuttlecock
JEAN-BAPTISTE SIMEON CHARDIN
Around 1737. Oil on canvas. 82x66

The poetry of everyday life, of its single moment - this is what Jean-Baptiste Chardin's painting is based on. He was an adherent of the everyday genre, raised to philosophical heights. The artist chose simple subjects and forced the viewer to look at his paintings for a long time, like at this “Girl with a Shuttlecock,” where nothing seems to be happening, just a gentle creature, ruddy and snub-nosed, frozen with a shuttlecock and a racket in her hands. There is a confused and sad expression on the heroine’s face, as if no one wants to partner with her or she is not very successful in the game. The impression is such that you can see how her lips tremble and her eyes fill with tears. The experiences of almost a child are echoed in the viewer, who sees in this genre scene the beauty and complexity of life, expressed in small things.

Regarding this painting and another, “Boy with a Card Castle,” also in the museum, the artist’s fellow countryman, the French writer Stendhal, responded as follows: “I stood and looked at them in that happy state that can only be…”

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In the wonderful city of Florence there are many that delight the eyes of tourists and also nurture their sense of beauty. One of these buildings - the Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi) - is located in the center of Florence between Piazza della Signoria and the bridge (Ponte Vecchio), willingly and unwillingly attracting numerous tourists, ranging from those who accidentally wandered here to those who came to this amazing city specifically to fully enjoy the masterpieces of world fine art exhibited here.

The Uffizi Gallery, which occupies a total area of ​​13,000 square meters, provides to the eyes of ordinary tourists and true connoisseurs of art one of the most important and largest collections, which covers works of both Italian and foreign artists working from the 13th to the 18th centuries.

In the museum you can personally enjoy the creations of such world-famous masters as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Rafael, Rubens, Rembrandt and many others. By the way, the Uffizi Gallery can rightfully be called one of the oldest museums in the world, which was opened to visitors almost immediately after its construction in the 16th century.

Gallery history

The most famous gallery in Italy is located in a massive building, designed by a talented architect (Giorgio Vasari). The construction of the Uffizi Gallery began back in 1560 by personal order, but the representative of the dynasty was never able to see it in finished form: construction of the building was completed twenty years later, after the death of Cosimo.

It is worth noting that in order to complete the architectural project, specialists had to demolish old neighborhoods and dismantle nearby medieval buildings.

However, when the Uffizi Gallery was completely completed, it became obvious that all the sacrifices were not in vain. One of the most impressive museums in the country is located in the U-shaped Piazza della Signoria, surrounded by hanging gardens and an art gallery. The author of the project, Vasari, was a true connoisseur of art, so he took care of a special design where the canvases were to be located.

Decades after the start of grandiose construction, the Medici family could finally move their pride here - unique collection paintings and sculptures collected from all over the world. It was to Florence that the representatives of the great dynasty sent all their masterpieces of art. The Medici received particular attention from the artist Sandro Botticelli, who, according to historians, was very friendly with the famous family.

His rare creations are kept in the Uffizi Gallery to this day. The museum houses one of his most famous creations, “The Birth of Venus” (Nascita di Venere), which joined the ranks of masterpieces exhibited here only in the mid-19th century. We can talk for a long time about the variety of beautiful canvases painted by the most famous artists in the history of mankind and exhibited in the Uffizi.

However, it is worth noting that the pearl of the entire collection is the Venus de Medici.

It will take more than one day to examine the numerous paintings. Fortunately, all the works stored here are arranged in more than 50 rooms in chronological order. It is thanks to this wise organization that you can trace how art developed from the 13th to the 18th centuries and the changing styles of painting and sculpture, from the Byzantine period to the Baroque.

As soon as you cross the threshold of the museum, you find yourself at a real crossroads: three lobbies lead from the entrance to the museum. The first contains busts made of marble and porphyry, the second is decorated with Giovanni da San Giovanni, the third contains Roman statues and sarcophagi. The Uffizi Gallery is simply mesmerizing not only with the art objects exhibited here. What's it worth? interior decoration one of the most visited galleries in Europe!

Useful information

Tickets

By the way, millions of tourists visit this Florentine attraction every year. And you can be one of these lucky ones!

• From March 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019, the cost of a full ticket to the Uffizi: 20 € + 4 € advance booking fee. During exhibitions the price may increase.
• From November 1, 2019 to February 28, 2020, the cost of a full ticket to the Uffizi: 12 € + 4 € for advance booking. However, it is worth considering that the ticket office closes at 18:05.
• Official online ticket offices: webshop.b-ticket.com
  Verified reliable agencies for purchasing tickets at the last minute: www.tiqets.com and www.getyourguide.ru. – they usually take a small commission, but there, even in high season, there are quotas.
• Group excursion for 1.5 hours costs 57 euros/person, tickets included, conducted in English, Italian, Spanish, German or French.
• If you go to the Uffizi in Russian with a guide ITALY FOR ME, he will help you make a reservation, pay for your tickets on the spot.

To avoid hours of waiting in line outside the museum itself, you can book tickets in Italian by calling +39 055 294883 (booking costs €4). The most convenient time to visit this Florentine landmark is after 14:00, when all school excursions end

Address and opening hours

The Uffizi Gallery is located at Piazzale degli Uffizi, 6, Firenze, Italy and can be accessed any day except Monday and May 1, from 8:15 to 18:50.

How to get there

You can get to the Uffizi Gallery by public transport (next to it is the stop C1 Galleria Degli Uffizi - Farmacia Logge) or on foot if you are already in the city center. By the way, if you still feel energized after visiting a beautiful gallery, turn your attention to the nearby attractions of Florence: the Bargello Palace.

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A special place is occupied by the Uffizi Gallery, which houses one of the world's richest and most significant collections of European art from the 13th to 20th centuries. Its importance is evidenced by the fact that the Gallery is considered the most visited museum in Italy, and about one and a half million people come to Florence every year to admire its collection.

BlogoItaliano has already written that this is one of the greatest museums in the world, where works of the most famous European artists are exhibited. But, in addition to paintings, the museum also has a significant collection of copies and originals of ancient sculptures, interior items from the Renaissance, and graphic works.

In total, the gallery has 45 rooms, some of them are dedicated to the work of individual artists. Preference is given, of course, to the creators of the Renaissance: Giotto, Botticelli, Titian, Caravaggio. The museum's collection also includes works by German, French and Flemish artists, as well as a rich collection of self-portraits.

Uffizi Gallery: history of the office building and the old bridge

• The best time to visit the gallery is Wednesday and Thursday mornings, immediately after opening. To be in time for the opening, you can stay in one of the hotels in the immediate vicinity of the Gallery [link].
• during high season (from July to September) you can book tickets to the gallery in the evening, preferably on Tuesday or Friday, when it is open longer than usual;
• We do not recommend planning a visit to the gallery during peak hours (10:00-12:00), as well as on Tuesday mornings, there are a lot of people at this time.

As you can see, you can avoid long standing in queues at the entrance to the Uffizi Gallery, the main thing is to prepare for this visit in advance and in advance book tickets online.

Well, if you are arriving in Italy not through Florence, then we also recommend our articles on how to get to the city.

The gallery features priceless works by Leonardo, The Adoration of the Magi and The Annunciation; Michelangelo's only significant painting is a tondo depicting the Holy Family. The Uffizi Museum has the most extensive collection of Botticelli's paintings in the world.

The Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi) is the most famous Florentine museum of fine arts. Its name literally means "gallery of offices". It is located between Piazza della Senoria and the Ponte Vecchio bridge near the Arno River. The building was built in 1560–81. and was intended for the magistrates of Florence.

History of construction

The history of the gallery began in the 16th century, when the city manager Cosimo I de' Medici decided to place 13 ministries of Florence, the entire city administration, in the Uffizi Palace. Old neighborhoods near Piazza della Signoria were demolished for construction; stone from the old buildings was used for the new building. The author of the design of the Uffizi Palace was Giorgio Vasari. After his death, the work was completed by the architects B. Buontalenti and A. Parigi. The offices of magistrates, the State Archive and the Tribunal were collected under the roof of the palace.

Uffizi Gallery - the legacy of the Medici family, one of the oldest Italian museums

History of the Gallery

But even such a serious institution, the Italians, known for their love of beauty and art, gradually decorated it with paintings and sculptures. At first these were works of art from the personal collection of the Medici family. The collection constantly grew thanks to donations from patrons and artists. After the expulsion of the Medici clan from Florence, family heirlooms remained in the palace.

In 1765, when Anna Maria Ludovica, the last of the Medici, donated her family's art collection to the people of Florence, the gallery became the city's first public museum, and subsequently a world attraction.

During the Napoleonic Wars, some works from the Uffizi collection were lost. During World War II, the building was flooded, and a significant part of the collection was looted by the Nazis. In 1993, a bomb exploded near the building. Part of the palace was damaged - the Niobe Hall was especially badly damaged; most of its frescoes could not be restored.

Architecture

The Uffizi Gallery consists of two identical buildings connected by a covered passage. The facades of the buildings are faced with gray stone; a portico with arcades leads inside. The entrance to the gallery is formed by three vestibules. The first of them contains marble and porphyry busts of the Medici dynasty. The vaults of the rectangular hall on the first floor were decorated in the 17th century by Giovanni Manozzi. In the oval lobby you can see ancient Roman statues, sarcophagi, and reliefs.

Collection

Nevertheless, the Uffizi still preserves many valuable works, true pearls of art. Most of the paintings are exhibited in rooms with modern interiors and partially preserved elements of ancient decor. The exhibition occupies 6 thousand m2 and is divided into 50 halls.

The gallery features priceless works by Leonardo, The Adoration of the Magi and The Annunciation; Michelangelo's only significant painting is a tondo depicting the Holy Family. The Uffizi Museum has the most extensive collection of Botticelli's paintings in the world, the main ones being “The Birth of Venus” and “Spring”.

The grandiose “Italian” collection contains paintings by Raphael (the most famous “Madonna with the Goldfinch”), Titian (the famous “Venus of Urbino”), Caravaggio (the famous painting “Bacchus”), Tintoretto, Bassano, Veronese and other famous painters. The museum exhibits the best paintings by French, German, Flemish and Dutch masters, as well as a large collection of self-portraits of European artists, collected by Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici.

Caravaggio
"Bacchus", circa 1596

Opening hours

Tue - Sun 08:15 - 18:50;
Mon - day off.

Entrance fees

To get into the Uffizi Gallery, tourists from all over the world line up in a long line. Only in winter there are fewer people interested. Therefore, I recommend booking tickets in advance.

Full ticket price – €8.00; with exhibition - €11; reservation – €4.

Uffizi Gallery
Piazzale degli Uffizi, 6 50122 Firenze FI Italy
polomuseale.firenze.it

Take bus C1 to the Galleria Degli Uffizi stop

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