Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo Da Vinci After Restoration (Gallery of Statues and Tion of the Magi Is As Important Ate Topic Among Scholars

Home , Francesco Coppini, Plautilla Nelli, Santa Maria Novella, Uffizi

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JOURNAL OF THE FRIENDS OF THE UFFIZI GALLERY No. 68 - April 2017 The Unchained Intelligence of Leonardo The restoration of the sages being an image that was “Adoration”, made possible never finished, not even in the thanks to the generous mind of the artist. support of the Amici, The first step was diagnostic restores a true testing: lengthy in procedure, sophisticated, of wide spectrum; understanding of the artist next, the epochal decision to in a tempest of brushwork proceed with restoration; a cou- expressing the master’s rageous decision as the work incessant mental activity proves to be one of the most dif- ficult by Leonardo. At the same time, the activities of the cura- he Amici degli Uffizi have tors and technicians, practically Tprovided an immense gift their every move in this demand- not only to “their” museum but ing challenge, underwent the also to all humanity. In effect, scrutiny of the public: Leonardo the restoration of the Adora- is a pop icon as well as a passion- The Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci after restoration (Gallery of Statues and tion of the Magi is as important ate topic among scholars. Cer- Paintings of the Uffizi). as that of the Tondo Doni by Mi- tainly, expectations are many chelangelo and the Last Supper and diverse when facing the pos- – especially in most recent times Adoration of the Magi gradually in Santa Maria delle Grazie, sibility of “reading” a work that – had somewhat obscured. progressed, not only were sub- once again by Leonardo. On was previously almost invisible; A discourse that also holds the contrary, it presented ma- but this restoration has restored true for those in charge the re- Eike D. Schmidt jor levels of difficulty because a true understanding of the art- storers, the art historians: be- Director of the Uffizi Galleries the panel has no settled pas- ist that novelistic popularization cause as the restoration of the (cont.d page 2) An extraordinary adventure Now that it is over, it is with great pride that we admire the results of value to us all. And all was made possible here in Florence, thanks to the restoration on the extraordinary masterpiece by Leonardo, the the wealth of skill and expertise that this city of art can boast: from Adoration of the Magi; it has been a long voyage lasting six years and a the rally of funding from our fellow members to the diagnostics, test- unique experience in the over twenty-year long history of the Amici ing, study and research and the cleaning and restoration carried out degli Uffizi. It was 2011 when the then current director of the Uffizi, by the staff of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure under the direction of Antonio Natali, contacted us as possible patrons for the restoration of Marco Ciatti. Each step was taken here, and the result of this choral the masterwork. We took up the commitment – notable for our forces effort empowered us all to fulfill our greatest expectations, right up to – with responsible determination and awareness, a privilege that today the ‘homecoming’ of a work that represents the highest expression of finds us the truly proud participants of an unrepeatable adventure, Leonardo’s creative furor. studded with many exciting moments along the path of the restoration A celebration that also rewards the unity of intent and sentiment with of this masterpiece that unites absolute beauty with material fragility, which the Association of the Amici operates, renewing its faithfulness the deterioration of which had to be arrested and prevented further. to the programs and activities of the Uffizi, in full collaboration with We are happy to have been partners in this important restitution, in the director Eike Schmidt. the homecoming to the Uffizi of Leonardo’s “Cosmo Magico”, now completely legible in its admirable iconographic detail. Moreover, the Maria Vittoria Colonna Rimbotti certainty of its conservation for future generations is of inestimable President of Friends of the Uffizi

IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI 1 (from page 1) with restoration complete, example to the dark marks in Andrea Santacesaria for their how natural it comes to stand correspondence to the head inventiveness and expertise in lime passages of painting dis- for longer moments examin- of the Christ Child), we essen- wood construction and con- covered but also new avenues ing the painting, to discover tially decided to take no further solidation. It can surely be said opened in comprehending previously concealed intrica- action, deferring the eventual that the Opificio delle Pietre the staggering, unchained cies and drawings of figures, removal to a time in the fu- Dure is the only institution that intelligence underlying it animals, landscape details ture when more sophisticated can guarantee to the world all; on the painted surface in that multiply the interpretive means will probably be capable today a result of this aesthetic fact, beyond the main repre- combinations. of identifying materials with and cultural significance. sentation, various texts and It took time, prudence greater certainty. On your part, dear Amici, subtexts came to light, in a and, above all, the intelli- I would just like to add a few we have received all that a mu- play of brushwork express- gence of a small army of ex- words to say how lucky we are, seum can desire from its sup- ing the incessant mental ac- perts, from the moment An- how lucky the whole world is, porters: not only unprece- tivity of the artist. If we con- tonio Natali commenced the to have been able here in Flor- dented generosity, but also sider the Uffizi a living body, restoration together with the ence to call on the intelligence, unconditioned trust and infi- and the works within it the former Superintendent Cristi- expertise and experience of two nite patience without which body’s limbs, then the Ado- na Acidini. Since my arrival, a restorers like Roberto Bellucci we could not have completed ration of the Magi is the most year and a half ago – which co- and Patrizia Riitano, both from this project, one that will re- highly sophisticated organ, incided with the very delicate the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, main exemplary in the history the brain; and each brush- phase of the final cleaning – I who represent the highest level of the Uffizi, in the history of stroke is a pictorial synapsis. have made many decisions on of competence in contemporary restoration, in the history of It is as though Leonardo un- how to proceed, together with restoration, Italian and interna- Leonardo. veils to the observer his most my colleagues from the Opifi- tional; to which I add the admi- intimate thoughts: and now, cio. In some cases (I refer for ration due to Ciro Castelli and Eike D. Schmidt Encounter with a masterpiece The history of the Adoration of the he Adoration of the Magi commission another painting Twas commissioned to of similar size and subject to Magi by Leonardo, commissioned for the Leonardo in 1481 by the Filippino Lippi who fulfilled Regular Canons of Saint Au- the commission in 1496. high altar of the church of San Donato a gustine for the high altar of The church and convent the church of San Donato a of San Donato a Scopeto, Ro- Scopeto. The extraordinary novelty of its Scopeto, once located on a manesque in origin, was de- hill outside Porta Romana in stroyed prior to the siege of complex composition Florence. The commission Florence in 1529 like other was suddenly interrupted convents located outside the when Leonardo left for Mi- city walls to assure that the lan, a departure determined sieging armies could not use either by his own will or one them as shelters. This fact un- prompted by Lorenzo de’ fortunately leaves us with no Medici. In any case, the large architectural points of refer- painting was left unfinished ence to support a hypotheti- and it is almost certain that cal reconstruction of the con- it was never placed on the al- figuration of the painting by tar for which it was intended. Leonardo or its frame. The Augustinian monks of Records do instead give ac- San Donato in Scopeto waited count of the painting’s various several years for the artist to locations during the decades complete the work until in the and centuries to follow, begin- early 1490s they decided to ning with Vasari’s mention of the work in his biography of Leonardo in the second edi- Leonardo da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi tion of his Lives (1568). There (Gallery of Statues and Paintings of the he states – using a past tense Uffizi). The painting prior to restoration verb – that the Adoration of carried out by the Opificio delle Pietre the Magi “was in the home of Dure with the support of the Amici degli Amerigo Benci opposite the Uffizi. loggia of the Peruzzi”; and

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“The Magic Cosmos of Leonardo. The Adoration of the Magi Restored” Gallery of Statues and Paintings of the Uffizi from March 28 to September 24, 2017

curators: Eike Schmidt, Marco Ciatti, Cecilia Frosinini.

Natali who traces the signifi- ing a temple on the left. In cance not only to the writings this astonishing painting, of Saint Augustine, but also Leonardo appears to fore- to the prophecies of Isaiah shadow many figurative inven- who possibly can be identi- tions adopted in the years to fied with the pensive figure come: the group of the Ma- seen in the extreme left-hand donna and Child seated on a foreground. It follows that the large stone before an open tree, whose roots emerge from space anticipates the solution the rock near the Christ Child, found in the two versions of assumes a forceful symbolism the Virgin of the Rocks in Paris and, not by chance, consti- and London; the head of the tutes the perspectival point bald old man on the right re- of convergence of the entire turns in the Saint Jerome of the composition likewise corre- Vatican Pinacoteca; the skir- sponding in its placement to mish of horsemen brings to the golden mean along the mind the Battle of Anghiari, width of the painting. and so forth. An unfinished The background, finally masterpiece dated 1481 that legible in all of its depth, per- looks to the future and is the Leonardo da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi, detail of the Madonna and Christ Child after mits a reading previously pos- foundation of the painting for restoration (Gallery of Statues and Paintings of the Uffizi). sible only with diagnostic in- a century to come. struments; it is clearly divided into two sectors with a battle Marco Ciatti other documents in effect In the context of Floren- scene on the right and a group Superintendent confirm a certain familiarity tine painting in 1481, the work of people intent on rebuild- of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure between Leonardo and the was extraordinarily ground- Benci family. In 1621, archi- breaking for its innovative and val registers record the work complex composition, for the in the Casino di San Marco multitude of figures circulat- among the possessions being around the biblical protag- queathed by don Antonio de’ onists, for their varied poses Medici to his son Giulio upon and expressions, anticipat- whose death in 1670, the ing the “modern” manner in painting entered the ‘Guarda- painting whose birth Vasari at- roba Medicea’ (Medici collec- tributes to Leonardo himself. tions). From there, it arrived Moreover, beyond the at the Uffizi where it has been story of the Epiphany and the up to the present, except for visit of the Magi, other con- a brief interim in the second tent makes the work rich in half of the 18th century when complex iconological themes it was removed to the villa of according to the very convinc- Castello. ing interpretation of Antonio

Filippino Lippi, Adoration of the Magi (1496), commissioned by the Augustinian monks of San Donato in Scopeto in substitution for the unfinished work by Leonardo (Gallery of Statues and Paintings of the Uffizi).

IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI 3 Leonardo da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi, detail with the bald old man during restoration (on the left) and after restoration (on the right), Gallery of Statues and Paintings of the Uffizi. The Conservation Project From 2011, the famous masterpiece by Leonardo was subject to a campaign of diagnostic testing and research that continued up to the completion of the superlative restoration made possible thanks to the generous support of the Amici degli Uffizi

ollowing an agreement the non-original surface mate- The conservation project of the supports and the system Fbetween the Opificio rials and structural problems, was devised by a team created of transverse battens (cross- delle Pietre Dure and the ex- visible to the naked eye, stem- expressly for this operation beams) using a method that Soprintendenza Speciale of ming from the separation of following the characteristic allowed for a more adequate the Florentine Polo Museale, the support beams with dam- methodology of the Opificio structural support while still in November 2011, the large aging effects reaching to just after an extensive campaign respecting the historic tech- painting by Leonardo rep- beneath the painterly surface. of diagnostic testing. The re- niques of construction. resenting the Adoration of the Moreover, the surface altera- sults, along with reflections on The results of the resto- Magi was transferred with the historic-artistic signifi- ration are thus manifold: a grand spectacle from the cance of the masterpiece better conservation of all the Uffizi Gallery to the Res- and the data regarding the constitutive materials and a toration Laboratory of the history of its conservation, clearer reading of the extraor- Fortezza da Basso. This determined the guidelines dinary expressive values. Not initiated a period of study, for the cleaning process only are all of the figures and research and diagnostic carried out by Roberto Bel- details more legible, but the testing aimed at explor- lucci and Patrizia Riitano exceptional internal spatial ing a series of elements and for the consolidation construction of the painting connected to both the of the wooden supports now reveals a perspectival and material structure and the carried out by Ciro Castelli atmospheric vision typical artistic significance of the Leonardo da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi, and Andrea Santacesaria, of Leonardo, especially the work. An adequate knowledge detail (Gallery of Statues and Paintings with the collaboration of Al- background obscured up to of these two facets was in effect of the Uffizi). berto Dimuccio. now by a veritable patina. It the necessary point of depar- The cleaning removed the moreover seems evident that ture in elaborating a conserva- non-original materials, such in a manner unusual for his tion project aimed at an even tions obscured the internal spa- as varnishes, glues and pati- time, Leonardo elaborated greater in-depth understand- tiality and many other details to nas that had been layered on his formal research directly ing of the masterwork. Funda- the viewer. Besides the breaks the unfinished surface of the on the panel instead of on mental in this process was the in the wooden supports, initial painting during periodic inter- paper. patronage of the Amici degli stages of a superficial tear in ventions of conservation over Thanking the Amici degli Uffizi who with their unwaver- the pictorial surface had been the course of time. The various Uffizi, the Uffizi Galleries and ing support made the entire provoked by the accumulation films were removed gradually all those from the Opificio operation possible. of numerous layers of materials and separately depending on who contributed to this result, There were two major fac- applied to the pictorial surface the specific conditions of every I am happy to give back to the tors that prompted our deci- as a result of restoration meth- single area and every figure. public this truly “rediscovered” sion to proceed with interven- ods adopted over the course of Equally important for the fu- masterpiece. tion on the famous master- centuries by the Grand ducal ture conservation of the mas- piece: marked alterations of Galleries. terpiece was the consolidation Marco Ciatti

4 IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI Plautilla the sister painter

An exhibit at the Uffizi inaugurates a series of exhibitions dedicated to women artists. It explores the little known work of Plautilla Nelli who headed a workshop with pupils within the Convent of Santa Caterina in Cafaggio in Florence

small exhibit opens an in- come then to further study and A novative series of great in- exhibitions on protagonists who Plautilla Nelli (attributed to), Initial A: the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple with Two terest within the Gallerie degli have been up to now relegated to Nuns, circa 1545-1567, tempera, gold leaf on parchment (Florence, Museum of San Uffizi. For me this is of the great- the sidelines or simply ignored. Marco). est importance with regard to Welcome to critical research and the monographic exhibit on the archival investigations like the one ible’ side of the history of art that she would have done marvelous painter Plautilla Nelli (1524 -1588) carried out by Fausta Navarro on needs to be restored to the public”. things if she had enjoyed, as men inaugurated March 8. I would Plautilla, also thanks to the sup- The exhibit “Plautilla Nelli. do, advantages for studying, devot- tend to discard celebrative and port and patronage of the Advanc- Art and Devotion in the Convent ing herself to drawing, and copy- gendered stereotypes in rereading ing Women Artists Foundation. in the Footsteps of Savonarola” ing living and natural objects”. Yet, the singular life of this artist “the As Jane Fortune, the founder and tells the tale of this forerunner, ac- despite these constraints, Plautilla first Florentine woman painter”, president of AWAF, underscores tive in the convent near San Marco was a pictora esteemed for her artis- as Vasari emphasizes in his Lives, “the works by women artists that with her own workshop and pu- tic talent and for the moral virtue also considering that despite her we have traced and catalogued pils. And, besides creating works that she expressed in a series of de- talent and inclinations, her artistic in the museums and churches of – in Vasari’s words – “that she cop- votional works. vocation was not a free choice but Florence are over 2000, an ‘invis- ied from others … she shows that The works on exhibit, includ- the fruit of constant and assiduous ing five recently restored paintings devotion typical of the cloistral life and two manuscripts decorated to which Plautilla was relegated at with her illuminations, shed light 14 years of age, taking her vows in on her corpus still in the course of 1538 in the Convent of Santa Ca- definition. In effect, just ten years terina in Cafaggio in Florence. ago, only three important works by As Eike Schmidt, director of her were known: the Lamentation the Uffizi Galleries, declared, the over the Dead Christ today in the Mu- visibility given to her quite notable seum of San Marco, the Last Supper artistic production, characterized housed in the refectory of the con- by the reform and spirituality of vent of Santa Maria Novella and Savonarola, marks the meaningful currently under restoration, and beginning “of a series of exhibi- the Pentecost in the Church of San tions dedicated to women artists, Domenico in Perugia. Now other including Maria Lassnig whose paintings, drawings and miniatures show opened on March 25”. Wel- attributed to Plautilla and her workshop have been identified and are on display. Thus, the sister-prioress- “Plautilla Nelli. painter appears to have found her Art and Devotion in the rightful place, not only for the cre- ation of sacred and devotional im- Convent in the Footsteps ages, but also as a fully acknowl- of Savonarola” edged artist: the beginning of what we hope will be a long line of other curator Fausta Navarro women protagonists. Gallery of Statues and Mara Amorevoli Paintings of the Uffizi Plautilla Nelli, Annunciation, oil on wood Until June 4, 2017 (Florence, Deposits of the Gallery of Statues and Paintings of the Uffizi).

IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI 5 A versatile artist Giuliano da Sangallo, Group of Ancient Warriors (detail). The Department of Drawings and Prints has opened the first monographic exhibit on Giuliano da Sangallo with a display of the artist’s drawings, projects and experimentations in sacred, civic and military architecture

natively as works by Giuliano or Antonio Sangallo the Elder in late 19th century inventories, and attributed to one or other of the brothers by the first com- mentators of the early 20th century up to the late 1930s. What emerges is an artist who knows how to renovate a narrative mode deriving from antiquity, giving life to scenes all’antica and participating actively in the cultural phase that witnessed the passage from imitation of antiquity to its assimilation. The printed catalogue un- dertakes a linguistic analysis and comprehensive evaluation of Giuliano’s graphic production, clarifying: chronology, places and patrons in his activity Giuliano Giamberti, called Giuliano da Sangallo, Project for San Lorenzo in Florence (Uffizi Galleries, Department of Drawings and Prints, Inv. 281 A). as a designer; his compositional Giuliano Giamberti, called Giuliano research and typological experi- da Sangallo, Project for a Tabernacle, mentations in sacred, civic and Florence (Uffizi Galleries,Department of military architecture; the aim Drawings and Prints, Inv. 1659 A). his first monographic ex- sen precisely to illustrate the and function of his antiquar- Thibition on the part of the versatility of the master and the ian studies and his notebooks; Uffizi Galleries Department of multiple implications of his in- his relations with his brother architectural and antiquarian Prints and Drawings dedicated terests in architecture, as well as Antonio the Elder, his nephew knowledge. to Giuliano da Sangallo not only the activity of his workshop. Antonio the Younger and his The exhibit is part of a wid- presents the entire corpus of The first section focuses on son Francesco, in the codex and er research project related to drawings within the collection the debated issue of Giuliano’s presentation drawings by more the Department of Drawings unquestionably by the hand of figure drawings, analyzing a lim- than one hand; the practice of and Prints’ vast collection of ar- the artist alongside other com- ited nucleus of figurative draw- the copy and the circulation of chitectural drawings that have parable works, but also includes ings passed down been the focus of various exhib- a limited number of artistic through tradition as its in the past (Bramante e gli al- creations – such as the wooden works by Sangallo, tri, 2006; Bernardo Buontalenti e model of Palazzo Strozzi – cho- or registered alter- Firenze, 1998; Disegni di architetti fiorentini 1540-1640, 1985; L’edificio a pianta centrale, 1984; Disegni di fabbriche brunelleschi- “Giuliano da Sangallo: ane, 1977; Mostra di disegni di Bernardo Buontalenti, 1968), but Uffizi Drawings” that still today await further curators: studies. Dario Donetti, Marzia Faietti, Sabine Frommel. Dario Donetti, Marzia Faietti, Sabine Frommel Florence, Uffizi Galleries Department of Drawings and Prints Edoardo Detti Room and the Room of the Fireplace Giuliano Giamberti, called Giuliano da Sangallo, Standing Male Figure – Bagoa, Holofernes’ attendant (?) – Florence (Uffizi From May 16 to August 20, 2017 Galleries, Department of Drawings and Prints, Inv. 155 F recto).

6 IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI

Essays on the work and its A revealing restoration restoration

The interesting a year to complete has recov- very fluid calcium carbonate- ith restoration of the triptych depicting the technical details revealed ered and made evident the based preparation over which W painting’s chromatic splendor a coating of lead white priming Resurrection of Lazarus by during the restoration of the and that of the carved wooden in an oily medium was applied. Nicolas Froment complete, a triptych of Nicolas Froment frame, bringing to light many Among the pigments a- publication furnishes docu- and its precious frame points for comparison and dopted, those that stand out mentation on the restoration and delineates the history of study with regard to the picto- for the beauty of their enam- the work, of the artist and the he triptych depicting the rial technique of Froment. eled finishing are the mad- patron, the prelate from Pra- TResurrection of Lazarus der and carmine based reds, to, Francesco Coppini. The was signed and dated 1461 The construction copper resinate based greens volume, edited by Silvana by the French master Nicolas The panel s and the frames and indigo for the architec- Publishing House and made Froment, painter of Renée that compose the triptych are tural backdrops surrounding possible by the generous sup- d’Anjou, active principally in made of oakwood. the Virgin and Child and the port of the Friends of the southern France. As Daniela The gilded and carved up- patron on the backside of the Uffizi Gallery, contains essays Parenti has fully explained per gothic fretwork (tracery) wings of the triptych. by Daniela Parenti, editor in the April 2016 issue of this is fastened to the central panel and director of the restora- journal, the triptych was com- by pins as are the small pilasters The restoration tion, by Dominique Thié- missioned by Francesco Cop- with capitals in the center pan- After opportune solubility baut, curator of the Louvre pini, a bishop originally from el, the gilded crowning and the testing on substances present and specialist in French Prato and papal legate of moulded base. on the surface – glues and or- painting whose contribution Pope Pius II to Flanders and The frames of the side pan- ganic material and heavily yel- retraces Froment’s activity, England. els are fastened to the painted lowed and oxidized varnishes and of the historian Veronica Vestri, who delineates a clear – the cleaning process was di- profile of the patron France- vided into two distinct phases: sco Coppini. The publication the first phase was the removal provides a detailed account of the varnish and the second by Lucia and Andrea Dori of the thinning of the proteinic the restoration process, the patina, largely found on the unexpected discoveries and reverse side of the wings of the the difficulties encountered, triptych. concluding with the results of Following the process of the diagnostic investigations stucco fillings on the paintings undertaken by Gianluca Pol- and the frames, a gouache un- di, collaborator from the dertone was applied as a base University of Bergamo. for the pictorial restoration conducted in transparency, Daniela Parenti resulting in a reduction of the negative effects of a widely dif- fused craquelure, above all in the painterly surface and the the purple and red mantels. frame, protecting and conserv- The gilding was integrated ing not only the original paint- with gold leaf and powder using but the restoration materi- ing gum arabic. als as well. A final spray-varnish was applied in order to make uniform Lucia and Andrea Dori

Nicolas Froment, Resurrection of Lazarus (1461), detail after restoration (on the right the work after restoration, sponsored by the Friends of the Uffizi Gallery).

The painting arrived at the panels by enfourchement fittings; Academy of Fine Arts in Flor- the paintings are inserted into ence and subsequently the a groove carved within the Uffizi in 1841 from the Convent thickness of the frame that in of San Bonaventura at Bosco ai turn is secured by wooden dow- Frati in the Mugello region, fol- els and animal glue. lowing the suppressions of the Before ensuing the picto- Napoleonic government. The rial representation, the panel restoration which took almost was primed with two coats of a

IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI 7 ife at the ffizi L U ASSOCIAZIONE

President Countess Maria Vittoria Colonna Rimbotti President Countess Maria Vittoria Colonna Rimbotti Vice-Presidents - Michael J. Bracci, n A recognized ual assault on the part of the Emanuele Guerra talent painter Agostino Tassi. In Vice-President - Emanuele Guerra Florence, her talent was so Executive Director - Lisa Marie Browne Artemisia Gentileschi (1593- well recognized that she was Executive Directors - Patrizia Asproni, Andrea Del Re, Giovanni Gentile, Fabrizio Guidi Legal Counsel - Howard J. Freedman 1653), one of the a most no- called to be a member of the Bruscoli, Mario Marinesi (Treasurer), table and appreciated woman prestigious Academy of the Elisabetta Puccioni (Secretary), Treasurer - Bruce Crawford artists of the 17th century, Art of Design in 1616. Thus, Oliva Scaramuzzi, Eike D. Schmidt, Catterina Seia Secretary - Madeleine Parker has always been upheld as a gaining her proper standing symbol for her success in af- within the cultural milieu of Auditors- Francesco Corsi, Directors - Diana M. Bell, Enrico Fazzini, Corrado Galli Susan D. McGregor firming herself and being rec- the city, she was able to over- ognized for her talent in an come the numerous difficul- Alternate Auditors - Alberto Conti, Honorary Member epoch in which this was not ties that stemmed from the Valerio Pandolfi Eike D. Schmidt, Uffizi Gallery Director at all common for a woman. violence she had undergone Secretariat - Tania Dyer, Bruna Robbiani Advisory Board An exhibit in Rome at Palaz- and from economic troubles. c/o UnipolSai, zo Braschi, open until May 7, At Palazzo Braschi some of via L.Magnifico 1, 50129 Firenze. Chairman - Diann G. Scaravilli retraces the various phases the masterpieces from the col- Tel. +39 055 4794422 - Fax +39 055 4792005 [email protected] Vice Chairman - Daniela Di Lorenzo of the truly notable career of lections of the Uffizi Galleries this intellectually gifted and are on exhibit including the “Ju- Secretary - Barbara Chamberlain Welcome Desk - Luminita Cristescu strong-willed woman. Her dith with her Maidservant Abra” Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture degli Advisors - Linda Civerchia Balent, career began in the work- and the “Conversion of Magda- Uffizi,Entrance 2 - Tel. +39 055 285610 Francine Birbragher-Rozencwaig, shop of her father Orazio, a lene” (both from the Palatine [email protected] Marianne Caponnetto, skilled painter and follower Gallery) and the extraordinary Scott Diament, Mars Jaffe, of Caravaggio, and proceeded "Judith Beheading Holofernes " triannual publication Gordon A. Lewis Jr., of the Amici degli Uffizi Irvin M. Lippman, Susan J. Saturday, to Florence where Artemisia (1620-21, from the Gallery of Meredith A. Townsend, took refuge, as is well known, Statues and Paintings of the Editor-in-chief Robert E. Silvani, Linda J. Tufo to escape the scandal after the Uffizi): emblematic paintings, Maria Vittoria Colonna Rimbotti Honorary Members painful episode that marked that draw inspiration from epi- Editorial board H.R.H Princess Maria Pia di Savoia her youthful existence, sex- sodes in which the protagonists de Bourbon-Parma, are courageous and President H.R.H. Prince Michel Eike D. Schmidt de Bourbon-Parma, suffering women, Countess Chiara Miari Fulcis Ferragamo like other biblical Uffizi Coordinator Salvatore La Spina Friends of the Uffizi Gallery and mythological figures that, not by 205 Worth Avenue Suite 201 Managing Editor Palm Beach, Florida 33480 chance, struck the Maria Novella Batini Tel.: 561.289.4090 imagination of Ar- Fax: 561.391.1597 Contributors for this issue [email protected] temisia and were Mara Amorevoli, Marco Ciatti, Maria Vittoria immortalized in Colonna Rimbotti, Dario Donetti, HOW TO JOIN her paintings. Lucia and Andrea Dori, Marzia Faietti, THE FRIENDS OF THE Sabine Frommel, Daniela Parenti, Eike Schmidt. UFFIZI GALLERY M. N. Translator Membership dues are integral Josephine Rogers Mariotti to the mission of Friends Artemisia Gentileschi, of the Uffizi Gallery and Judith Beheading Graphic design and layout Holofernes, Edizioni Polistampa - Firenze because the organization ca. 1620-21, Florence, Via Livorno 8/32 - 50142 Firenze, Italy. is a 501(c)(3) they are tax Gallery of Statues and Tel. +39 055 737871 Fax +39 055 7378760 deductible. Paintings of the Uffizi. For any questions about memberships, donations, HOW TO JOIN THE AMICI DEGLI UFFIZI corporate sponsorships, Supporting the Amici degli Uffizi means becoming a patron of culture and a contributor to Sponsor of the Association planned giving or in-kind the conservation and donation of works of art to the Gallerie degli Uffizi. Amici degli Uffizi with their contribution: donations, please call at Your membership includes: 561-289-4090 ● A personal membership card ● Free, unlimited and priority entrance to the Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture degli Uffizi UnipolSai or email and all of the museums of Palazzo Pitti Assicurazioni S.p.a. Bologna [email protected] ● A subscription to our triannual “Il Giornale degli Uffizi” or visit HOW TO JOIN: https://www.friendsoftheuffizi ■ At the Welcome Desk – Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture degli Uffizi, Entrance 2, gallery.org/memberships/ Tel +39 055285610 [email protected] ■ Directly on our website http://www.amicidegliuffizi.it/diventa_socio.php?pg=8&ln=it

8 IL GIORNALE degli UFFIZI