Uffizi, refitting rooms with masterpieces from the Contini Bonacossi Collection, from Bellini to Bernini

Inaugurating today, Feb. 28, for all visitors to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, is the rearrangement of the rooms of the Contini Bonacossi Collection, the collection that the Contini Bonacossi couple donated to the Italian state in 1969: as many as 144 works thus became part of the Florentine galleries. The donation was then exhibited in 1974 at Palazzo Pitti, where it remained accessible (in the rooms of the Meridiana) until 1998. This was not yet the final location, however, and in that year the collection was moved to Via Lambertesca, to some rooms owned by the Uffizi, and remained visitable only by appointment. The spaces, in 2011, were connected to the museum route, but were not open permanently. These rooms were therefore rearranged, open without limits, and divided into eight sections, each dedicated to a theme: gold backgrounds, Andrea del Castagno, Bellini, Bramantino, Furniture, Sculpture, Majolica, Bernini.

The collection welcomes masterpieces by great artists, as Francesca De Luca, reference officer for the collection, explains: these are works "that in terms of exceptionality and rarity are fully equal to those housed in the Gallery’s collections and are grafted into the Uffizi’s heritage, integrating underrepresented schools, such as the Lombard school between the 15th and 16th centuries, or the Spanish school of the 17th and 18th centuries. Like touches of light that alone would illuminate a museum room, some exemplary masterpieces shine here, such as Sassetta’s Madonna of the Snow, Giovanni Bellini’s Saint Jerome, Bramantino’s altarpiece, Veronese’s Portrait of Giuseppe da Porto with his Son, and Gianlorenzo Bernini’s Martyred Saint Lawrence.“ The latter, an important early work by Bernini, is, according to Eike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi, ”Bernini’s most Florentine masterpiece, which in the pose of the saint lying on the gridiron evokes Michelangelo’s sculptures on the sarcophagi of the New Sacristy, juxtaposed in the church of San Lorenzo."

The works in the collection have been arranged following the wishes of the Contini Bonacossi couple, who wanted the collection to be displayed all together. Says Antonio Godoli, architect curator of the Uffizi’s architectural heritage, “The novelty of the museographic renovation of the Contini Bonacossi rooms, now included in the context of the museum itinerary, is based on the decisive contribution of both natural and artificial light.” The rearrangement was made possible thanks to funding from the Friends of the Uffizi and the Friends of the Uffizi Galleries. Maria Vittoria Colonna Rimbotti, president of the two associations, said that “For our two associations it was a great joy to be able to contribute to the refitting of these rooms, finally allowing the public to view the precious collection in environments that enhance it.”

Pictured: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, San Lorenzo (1613-1617; white marble, carved and partially gilded wooden base; Florence, Contini Bonacossi Collection, Uffizi Galleries)

Uffizi, refitting rooms with masterpieces from the Contini Bonacossi Collection, from Bellini to Bernini

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