Uffizi on paintings by Daniele da Volterra: "It is not possible to cede them to the Pinacoteca di Siena, but we will make exhibitions"

There comes the word “end” on the affair of the d’Elci paintings by Daniele da Volterra (Daniele Ricciarelli; Volterra, 1509 - Rome, 1566): at the end of 2019, a committee of intellectuals had launched an appeal to ask the Uffizi Galleries (which purchased the two works between 2017 and 2019) to “rethink their destination” by involving the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena. Today, in the morning, came the Uffizi’s response, following a meeting between director Eike D. Schmidt and the mayor of Siena, Luigi De Mossi. The Uffizi and the Municipality of Siena, in particular, made it known that regulations do not allow the transfer of the paintings to the Pinacoteca Nazioanle di Siena, but Schmidt did not rule out future exhibitions not only in Volterra (as had already been envisioned at the time of the purchase), but also in Siena, precisely for such an important artist as Daniele Ricciarelli.

Other exhibition opportunities were also announced during the meeting: in particular, the exhibition Masaccio: Madonna del Solletico. Cardinal Antonio Casini, the Other Pope, which will be held from May 14 to October 31, 2020 in the crypt of Siena Cathedral, to be realized as a project of the Metropolitan Opera of Siena in collaboration with the Uffizi. The Gallery of Statues and Paintings will temporarily deprive itself of this Masaccio masterpiece to celebrate the figure of its patron, Sienese Cardinal Antonio Casini (1378 - 1439). In addition, Schmidt and De Mossi spoke again about the two paintings by Albrecht Altdorfer with the Stories of St. Florian, from the Spannocchi collection in Siena, which have been in storage at the Uffizi since 1913. Already since 2018 the works have been on display in the Santa Maria della Scala complex, and in this morning’s meeting, Schmidt reiterated that the two works, owned by the Province of Siena, will return as part of the great undertaking to recompose the historic Sienese collection, at the urging of Dr. Alessandro Bagnoli of the Sienese Superintendency, and in consultation with Superintendent Andrea Muzzi and the director of the Tuscan Museums Pole, Stefano Casciu. With this restitution, the Uffizi wants to contribute to an operation of important historical value, ensuring that the Spannocchi collection can be revived in the city to which it has belonged since 1709. The Uffizi will also send works by Sodoma to Siena for the upcoming exhibition, which will also feature the fresco of the Chapel in Piazza del Campo, currently under restoration, Madonna and Child with Saints.

Finally, the idea of a musical collaboration has also been launched: in fact, Schmidt has invited the AccademiaChigiana to play in the Sala Bianca of the Pitti Palace, as part of the program of events annually hosted in the space of the Medici palace.

“In recent years,” Schmidt comments, “the Uffizi Galleries have been dedicatedly committed to the local area and to less famous and less visited museums. In the last year alone, the exhibitions organized in Poppi, Anghiari, Signa, Bagno a Ripoli, Urbania and Matera are proof of this. The possibility of extending the collaboration with Siena honors us and sanctions an intra-regional pax. I am pleased to contribute, with all the energy and participation I can muster, to Mayor De Mossi’s plans and vision of making Siena even more relevant in the international cultural arena.”

“I am very pleased with the meeting with Director Schmidt whose sensitivity and high professionalism I have already had the opportunity to appreciate on the occasion of his previous visit to Siena for the Palio in August,” says De Mossi. “I am certain that the collaboration between the Uffizi, Santa Maria della Scala, the Accademia Chigiana and the Siena Cathedral complex, which is under archbishopric jurisdiction, will produce great results in the cultural field, overcoming parochialism and particularism and contributing to building a circuit among the most prestigious in the world, if not the most prestigious. I must emphasize, once again, that the operation carried out by the Uffizi allows two works that would have been known and enjoyed only by private entities to be retained in the public patrimony. I again emphasize and thank Director Schmidt for the effort made.”

Pictured are the “d’Elci paintings.” Left: Daniele da Volterra, Elijah in the Desert (c. 1543; oil on canvas, 81 x 115 cm; Private collection). Photo: Andrea Lensini, Siena. Right: Daniele da Volterra, Madonna and Child, St. John and St. Barbara (c. 1548; oil on panel, 131.6 x 100 cm)

Uffizi on paintings by Daniele da Volterra: "It is not possible to cede them to the Pinacoteca di Siena, but we will make exhibitions"

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