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The Bargello National Museum is a museum in Florence, dedicated to
sculpture, which is part of the Bargello Museums together with the
Medici Chapels, Orsanmichele, Palazzo Davanzati and Casa Martelli.
Its collection of Renaissance statues is considered among the most
remarkable in the world: in fact, it includes masterpieces by
Michelangelo, Donatello, Ghiberti, Cellini, Giambologna, Ammannati and
other important sculptors, as well as a large collection of applied
arts, mainly organized by type.
The name derives from the
Bargello palace which houses it.
In 2016 it was the
thirty-seventh most visited museum in Italy with 213,598 visitors, down
on 2015.
In the 1840s, Baron Seymour Kirkup, together with other
collaborators, financed a series of soundings inside the chapel of Santa
Maria Maddalena in the Bargello palace and prison, following which, on
21 July 1840, the painter - restorer Antonio Marini unearthed a portrait
of Dante Alighieri, which according to Vasari had been painted by Giotto
[4]. This immediately led to the restoration of the environment by the
care of the architect Francesco Leoni, flanked by Pasquale Poccianti.
Also following the uproar caused by the discovery, in 1857, the
restoration of the entire factory began.
After the prison was
transferred to the Murate, the restoration of the complex was decided in
1859, which lasted until 1865 and under the direction of Francesco
Mazzei, who, having restored the ancient appearance, tried to recover or
redo the architectural ornaments from scratch and entrusting the
pictorial decorations of the rooms to Gaetano Bianchi who was inspired
by monuments of the same era.
In 1865 the National Museum was
inaugurated on the ground floor two weapons rooms were set up, with
objects coming in part from the Medici armory and the other from the
Wardrobe of Palazzo Vecchio, and a room of sculptures from the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries. The sculptures from the Salone dei Cinquecento
in Palazzo Vecchio, which in the meantime had become the seat of the
Italian Parliament, were placed in the hall on the first floor.
Subsequently from the Uffizi, both the bronze and marble sculptures and
the collections of applied arts arrived: majolica, wax, amber, ivory,
gold, enamel and small bronzes, some of these transferred in 1928 to the
Silver Museum. Other materials flowed both from donations and loans from
private individuals and public institutions: the seals from the State
Archives and the coins from the Mint. Finally, following the unification
of Italy and the consequent suppression of monastic orders, Della
Robbia, sculptures and sacred goldsmiths arrived.
On the occasion
of Donatello's centenary in 1887, the hall was destined to house works
by the artist and fifteenth-century Florentine sculpture.
The
collection of the Lyon antiquarian Louis Carrand was donated in 1888,
the Conti donation in 1886, the Ressman donation in 1899 and the
Franchetti donation in 1906, enriching the applied arts sector.
Hardly hit by the flood of 1966, it then underwent a series of
restorations, modernization of the systems and reorganization of the
collections.
The courtyard
The courtyard, portico on three sides with round
arches on octagonal pillars, was built in the XIII century and enriched
in the following century by the Gothic-style veranda and staircase, the
latter, built on the non-porticoed side, by Neri di Fioravanti between
1345 and 1367.
With the destination of the Palace as a prison,
the arches of the loggia and the veranda were closed off. In the second
half of the 19th century, the courtyard was the part of the building
most valued by the restorations of Mazzei, the loggias and the veranda
were reopened and the surviving coats of arms of the podestàs and wheel
judges were restored, in the vaults under the loggias frescoes by
Gaetano Bianchi with the banners of the neighborhoods and some coats of
arms of the podestà.
The installation presents sculptures from
Palazzo Vecchio and the Boboli and Castello gardens. In the center of
the courtyard there is a graceful octagonal well and some valuable
marble statues are also exhibited here, such as the six allegorical
sculptures by Bartolomeo Ammannati (Florence, the Arno, the Arbia, the
Earth, Temperance and Juno), the 'Ocean by Giambologna, some reliefs by
Benedetto da Maiano and the so-called Cannone di San Paolo by Cosimo
Cenni (1638).
Bartolomeo Ammannati:
Allegory of Florence
Arbia
Arno
Juno and Peacocks (JPG), su commons.wikimedia.org.
Temperance
Earth
Giambologna - Ocean
French art - Pair of allegorical figures
Francesco Camilliani - River deities
Florentine art:
Pair of lions
Frieze with dolphins
Portal
Fabrizio Farina - La Maddalena
Cosimo Nods:
Cannon of St. Paul
Falcone (small cannon)
Ancient
Art:
Sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
Giovan Battista Giovanozzi -
Dolphins (fountain finale)
Vincenzo Danti - Cosimo I de' Medici
Benedict of Maiano:
Coronation of Ferdinand of Aragon by Cardinal
Latino Orsini in 1459
You are musicians
Niccolò di Pietro Lamberti
- Saint Luke the Evangelist, 1403-1406
Giulio Serafini - Lucerniere
Attributed to Francesco Laurana - Alfonso of Aragon
Domenico Pieratti
- Saint John the Baptist
Vincenzo Gemito - The little fisherman
Paolo Di Giovanni - Madonna and Saints Peter and Paul
It is accessed from the eastern side of the courtyard. These are two
rooms normally intended for temporary exhibitions, which originally
usually housed some sculptures from the period before the Renaissance,
such as the Madonna with Child by Tino da Camaino or the group of Three
Acolytes by Arnolfo di Cambio, today on the first floor.
Hall of
Michelangelo and sixteenth-century sculpture
The room, redecorated in
the mid-nineteenth century by Gaetano Bianchi, was then set up with the
Medici collection of weapons and with trophies and flags. Following the
flood of 1966, the room was whitewashed and today only a Giotto fresco
remains with the Madonna and Child and praying. Luciano Berti assigned
it to sixteenth-century sculpture, with some pieces coming in 1874 from
the Uffizi.
Among the numerous works, those by Michelangelo
Buonarroti stand out, with some early works such as the Bacchus (1497),
his first sculpture in the round sculpted at the age of 22 and one of
the very rare profane subjects of the great artist, before being
overwhelmed by the wave of religiosity vehemently preached by
Savonarola. The figure of the tottering drunk, almost balancing on one
foot, is sculpted in a stately, well-modelled style reminiscent of
classical sculptures.
On the other hand, the Pitti Tondo dates
back to 1504, a partially unfinished bas-relief representing the Madonna
with the Child Jesus and the Infant Saint John, in which some historians
see signs of the influence of similar compositions by Leonardo da Vinci.
The David-Apollo dates back to 1530-32 and has not been clearly
interpreted, while the Portrait of Brutus from 1539 is the only
surviving bust by Michelangelo Buonarroti, which according to Vasari
represents Lorenzino de' Medici, called "Lorenzaccio" for killing his
cousin Duke Alessandro de' Medici.
The room is surrounded by some
small works inspired by the master, sculpted by Bartolomeo Ammannati,
Tribolo, and Baccio Bandinelli.
On the other hand, the works of
Benvenuto Cellini (such as the original small bronzes of the base of
Perseus in Piazza della Signoria, the marbles of Ganymede and Narciso,
and the bust of Cosimo I) and Giambologna, represented by one of his
masterpieces, the agile bronze Mercury of 1576.
By Andrea
Sansovino is the Bacchus of about 1515 which deliberately deviates from
the work of Michelangelo, while a bronze relief is an interesting work
by Vincenzo Donati. There is also Tribolo's Allegory of Fiesole.
Michelangelo Buonarroti:
Bacchus, marble
David-Apollo, marble
Portrait of Brutus, marble bust
Tondo Pitti, marble bas-relief
Giovan Francesco Rustici:
Battaglia, from a study by Leonardo,
terracotta
Madonna with Child and St. John the Baptist, tondo in
marble relief
Attributed to Giovan Francesco Rustici - Neptune on the
chariot
Jacopo Sansovino - Bacchus, marble
Andrea Sansovino -
Madonna and Child
Peter Francavilla:
Aaron
Moses
Tribulus:
Allegory of Fiesole, stone
The day
Giambologna:
Apennines
Flying Mercury, bronze
Giambologna and Pietro Francavilla - Florence
victorious over Pisa, marble
Pierino Da Vinci - Samson and the
Philistine
Vincent Dante:
Honor Conquers Deceit, marble
Moses
and the Brazen Serpent, bronze bas-relief
Door of Cosimo I's safe
with Augustus ordering the burning of the Sibylline books and Peace
between two prisons, bronze
Florentine art:
River
River
Moses
Samson and the Philistine
Baccio Bandinelli:
Adam and
Eve, marble
Cosimo I, marble bust
Bartolomeo Ammannati:
Recumbent Warrior-Tomb Nari, marble
The Victory-Tomb Nari, marble
Leda, marble bas-relief
Vincent de Rossi:
Dying Adonis, marble
Christ before Pilate, bronze bas-relief
Christ mocked, bronze
bas-relief
Ascent to Calvary, bronze bas-relief
Welcome Cellini:
Apollo and Hyacinth, marble
bust of Cosimo I, bronze
Ganymede,
marble, integration of an ancient sculpture
Narcissus, marble
Perseus, bronze model
Perseus Frees Andromeda, original from the base
of Perseus in the Loggia dei Lanzi
Original base of Perseus with the
statues of Jupiter, Minerva, Mercury, Danae with little Perseus
Daniele Da Volterra - Michelangelo, bronze bust
Anonymous
Sansovinesco - Head of a young man, from Sansovino's Bacchus, terracotta
Florentine artist - Crucifix
The room is set up with the ivories that entered the Bargello in 1889
with the Carrand collection, a French antiquarian who donated his
collection to Florence. The layout, rearranged in 1988, was enriched
with wooden, leather and bone artefacts of similar use. On the walls,
paintings and wooden statues.
Works present in the Sala degli
Ivori
Byzantine art - Tile from a box: Hercules and the Nemean lion
Byzantine art - Formella: Ascension
Byzantine art - Tile from a box:
Warrior on horseback
Byzantine art - Central part of a diptych: The
Empress Ariadne (?)
Italy - Diptych tablet: The Consul Basilius, 480
AD
Southern Italy - Plaque fragment: Christ in Glory, 1100 ca.
Italian art - Diptych: Adam in the earthly Paradise and scenes from the
life of Saint Paul
Paris - Virgin and Child
Christian art - Pyx:
Announcing Angel and Adoration of the Magi
Italian art - Case
Etruscan art - Mirror handle
Roman art - Ago ridge
Italian art -
Fragment of a pyx
Narbonne (?) - Rectangular plaque: Attis
Roman
art - Lynx heads
Roman art - Head of putto
Roman art - Busts of
cherubs
Roman art - Medallions with busts of cherubs
Roman art -
Acanthus leaf
Alexandria (?) - Gladiator knife handle
Roman art -
Knife handle with sheep
Roman art - Knife handle with trapezophores
Roman art - Small column with vegetal decoration
Roman art - Pyx:
Artemis and Actaeon
East - Pyx: Orpheus enchanting the animals
French School - Statuette: Virgin and Child
French art - Madonna and
Child
French School - Statuette: Virgin and Child
French School -
Statuette: Virgin and Child
French School - Statuette: Virgin and
Child
French school - Annunciation
Italian art - Stilettos for
parting hair
Italian art - Sword handle
French art - Sword handle:
naked Hercules astride the Nemean lion
Italian art - Knife handle
Italian art - Knife handle finish
French art - Mortar
Unknown 19th
century forger, known as Master of The Agrafe Forgeries - Reliquary of
Saint Catherine
French art - Jester's cane
French art - Jester's
cane
French art - Knives
Paris - Crucifix
Italian art (?) -
Knife
French art (?) - Knife
France or Germany (?) - Knife
France (?) - Knife
France - Knife
Italy (?) - Folding knife and
fork
Germany (?) - Desk scraper
France - Box set
Rhenish art -
Box set
French art - Jewelery box
Rhenish art - Statuette: the
Virgin and Child
French art (?) - Box set
French art - Fragment of
a jester's stick
Oriental art (?) - Toad
French art - Cutlass
France (?) - Knife, dated 1570
Master of the Madonna of Sant'Agostino
in Perugia - The Blessing Child
tuscany - Box set
Roman art -
Plaque: The temptation of Saint Peter
Charlemagne Palace School -
Part of a diptych: Double allegorical representation of a warrior
knocking down a character
French School - Book Binding Ornament:
Crucifixion
Reims (?) - Binding Plaque: David Enthroned
Saint-Omer
or Arras - Casket plaque: Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity and
Announcement to the shepherds
Charlemagne Palace School, Ada group -
Part of a diptych: The three Marys at the tomb
Northern France -
Binding plate: The Pious Women at the Sepulchre
Lotharingian School
or Second School of Metz - Binding plaque: Scenes from the life of Saint
Peter
German School - Portable Altar Panel: The Christ of the
Apocalypse
Northern France - Binding Plaque
Northern France - Oval
plaque with Saint Bartholomew
Rhenish School (?) - Plaque with the
Holy Spirit surrounded by the four Evangelists
Rhenish School (?) -
Plaque with Agnus Dei surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists
Italian School - Pastoral
Byzantine art - Reliquary box
Venetian
school - Pastoral hedgehog - The Madonna enthroned, Saint Peter, a
warrior saint and a bishop
Byzantine art - Rosette box
Circle of
Charles the Bald - Flabellum of Tournus
Northern France - Pastoral of
Ivo of Chartres
England - Pastoral Hedgehog
Italian school - Tau -
Pastoral
French school - Curl pastoralist with the Virgin in glory
and the Crucifixion
Italian school - Box set with scenes from the
life of the Virgin
Burgundian School - Chessboard
Italo-Byzantine
art - Box set
Duccio di Buoninsegna - Madonna and Child with Saints
French art - Part of a diptych with Crucifixion and Nativity
French
art - Diptych with scenes from the childhood of Christ and the Passion
French art - Crucifix
French art - Saint Margaret
French art -
Diptych with Stories from the Childhood of Christ and the Passion
Paris - Diptych with scenes from Christ's childhood
French art -
Diptych with scenes from the Childhood of Christ and the Passion
French art - Diptych: Virgin and Child with Crucifixion
French art -
Left valve of a diptych with the Adoration of the Magi
Paris -
Diptych with Stories of the Virgin, Crucifixion and Final Judgement
French art - Diptych: Virgin and Child with Crucifixion
France -
Diptych valve: Virgin with Child and Crucifixion
French art - Diptych
with scenes from the Passion of Christ
Italian art - Plaque with the
Trinity
France - Tablet with Crucifixion
French or German school -
Plate with Nativity
French art - Plaque with Crucifixion and female
saints
French art - Plaque with Massacre of the Innocents
France -
Tablet with allegorical scene
French art - Casket lid: the legend of
Saint Eustace
France - Formella for box set with History of the
Castellana di Vergi
French art - Mirror box shell: the God of Love
besieged in his castle
French art - Mirror box shell: the God of Love
besieged in his castle
French art - Mirror box shell: the God of Love
besieged in his castle
French art - Mirror box shell: a tournament
French art - Mirror box shell with a romantic subject
Unknown 19th
century forger - Mirror box valve with the castle of the God of Love
French art - Mirror box shell with the castle of the God of Love
Eastern France or Cologne (?) - Box valve for the meeting of Love
France - Mirror box shell with chess players
French art - Stick
handle with saint's head
French art - Head of a jester
Anglo-Saxon
art, Northumbria - “Franks” box set
Norway - Oliphant
Bamberg -
Panel with Flight into Egypt
Spain - Death of a saint
England -
Seat armrest
Italian art - Chess piece: horse
European art - Chess
piece: horse
Colony - Checkers pawn
Northern Europe (England?) -
Checkers pawn: Samson captured by the Philistines
Colony - Checkers
pawn
Northern Europe - Checkers pawn
Colony - Checkers pawn
Northern Europe (England ?) - Checkers pawn
Northern Europe -
Checkers pawn
Colony - Checkers pawn
Cologne - Checkers pawn:
Delilah cuts Samson's hair
French art - Chess piece: King
French
or Italian art - Chess piece: King
European art - Chess piece: King
Scandinavian art - Chess piece: horse
Muslim art - Piece for the game
of sacks: rook
European art on an Islamic model - Piece for the game
of sacks: rook
French art - Horn
Mosan region - Diptych with Jesus
Christ and Saint Michael defeating evil
French art - Fragment of a
liturgical belt
German art, Cologne school - Portable altar panel
with two shepherds
Casket fragment
Casket fragment
Scandinavia
- Fragment of conical shape
European art - Chess piece: rook
Workshop of the Embriachis - Triptych
Northern Italy - Triptych
Italian school - Comb with stories of Susanna
Northern Italy - Box
set
Northern Italy - Box set
Northern Italy - Box set
English
School - Casket panel
French school - Box set with chivalric and
allegorical subjects
French art - Rectangular prism box
Embriachi
workshop (?) - Mirror
Italian School - Plaques: Faith, Hope and
Charity
Italian school - Hair style handle
French school - Comb
with gallant scenes
Italian school - Comb
Italian school - Plaques
for casket
Italian school - Knife handle plates, around 1340
French school - Statuette of Saint George slaying the dragon
Northern
Italy - Cylindrical Pyx
Northern Italy - Box set with animals
French school - Comb with story of Pyramus and Thisbe (recto) and Venus
and Cupid (verso)
German School - Comb
Northern Italy (Bottega
Degli Embriachi ?) - Box set
Trapani - Pair of trophies
St. George
and the dragon
Tuscan art - Saint John the Baptist
German art -
Plaque: the Crucifixion
French art - Plaque: meeting of Joachim and
Anna at the Porta Aurea
German art - Plaque: Adoration of the Virgin
German art - Two plaques: Saint George and the dragon and the Virgin and
Child
Flemish art - Medallion: Crucifixion and coronation of the
Virgin
French art - Plaque
Italian art - Plaque: two putti and
three birds
Mantuan art - Side of a box: Triumph of love
Italian
art - Statuette: David
German art - Fragment of a statue: Judith and
Holofernes (?)
Flemish art - Box with Stories of the Passion
German art - Statuette: Mars
German art - Pommel of sword: Herod and
Herodias
Flemish art - Ivory inkwell: Mercury lifting Polymela, Venus
and Adonis in his arms
German art - Warrior
French art -
Statuette: Charity
Italian art - Ridge needle handle
Italian art -
Christ at the column
Spanish art - Crucifixion
Spanish art -
Peace. The Virgin and Child
Spanish art - Crib
Spanish art -
Plaque: The Virgin and Child
Spanish art - Statuette: Infant Jesus
Flanders - Plaque: Venus and Cupid
Austria, Cristoph Weidiz (?) -
Statuette: Lucretia
Umbrian-Sienese art - Bishop saint
Umbrian Art
- Madonna and Child Enthroned
Sienese art - Santa Barbara
Earnings
Cassone
Maestro del Giudizio di Paride - Judgment of Paris
Mariano
d'Angelo Romanelli - Nurse
Florentine art - Madonna with Child and
young Saint John
French art - Saint Anne, Madonna and Child
Byzantine art - Blessing Christ
Davide Ghirlandaio (?) - Head of
Saint Peter
Central Italy - Enthroned Madonna
Maso Da San Friano -
Predella Machiavelle Strozzi
Francesco and Valerio Zuccato - Portrait
of Cardinal Pietro Bembo
Master of Sant'Ivo - Madonna and Child with
Saints
Circle of Giovanni di Francesco - Lunette with Christ blessing
between two angels
Pseudo Ambrogio di Baldese - Madonna and Child
with two saints
Circle of Giovanni Boccati (?) - Announcing Angel
Ventura di Moro or Ambrogio di Baldese - Madonna and Child with Saints
Tuscany or Umbria - Madonna and Child with two female saints
Outline
of Francesco Cenni - Vir dolorum
The chapel on the first floor, with an ogival barrel vault and
single-lancet windows, was built after 1280. Here the condemned to death
stopped before starting their journey towards the scaffold, assisted by
the Battuti de' Neri who were part of the Compagnia di Santa Maria della
Croce in the Temple. Taking this use into account, the 1340 frescoes
attributed to Giotto's workshop can be explained: on the side walls, the
Stories of Saint Mary of Egypt, Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint John the
Baptist, shining examples of redeemed penitents and sinners; on the
entrance wall Hell, and on the back wall Paradise, where Dante Alighieri
is also represented among the chosen ones holding the Comedy, the oldest
portrait and probably closest to the reality of the great poet.
On the back wall there are also two late fifteenth-century frescoes with
the Madonna and Child by Sebastiano Mainardi and San Girolamo penitente
by Bartolomeo di Giovanni.
With the transformation of the
building into a prison, the frescoes were whitened and the room divided
into two floors, one intended to house those sentenced to death awaiting
execution, the other in the pantry. With the restoration of the
environment in the mid-nineteenth century, the choir and the lectern by
Bernardino della Cecca from San Miniato al Monte were placed in the
chapel, while the triptych by Giovanni di Francesco was placed on the
altar and finally goldsmith's works in the showcases sacred.
Attr. to Michelangelo - Gallino Crucifix
German art - Crucifix
Guglielmo Della Porta - Altarolo
Sienese art - Reliquary
Guglielmo
Della Porta - Christ at the Column
Italian art - Altarpiece frame
Art of Mount Athos - Cross
Abyssinian art - Cross
Almsgiving art -
Cross
Lombard art - Peace
Attributed to Maso Finiguerra - Peace
Maso Finiguerra - Peace
Maso Finiguerra - Peace
Antonio del
Pollaiolo and unknown Florentine goldsmith - Cross-reliquary
Matteo
Dei - Peace
Florentine art - Peace
Tuscan art - 14th century
cross, Christ perhaps earlier
Tuscan art - Cross of the XII-XIII
century, the Christ of the XIII-XIV
Florentine art - Thurible
Cross-reliquary - Umbrian workshop: the cross, Lombard workshop: the
base
Luca Della Robbia - Tondo with the Holy Spirit
Florentine art
- Peace
Tuscan art - Cross
Florentine art - Navicella
Florentine goldsmith and Florentine art - Cross
Tuscan art - Cross
Unknown Lombard goldsmith - processional cross
Italian art (?) -
Altarolo
Unknown Lombard silversmith - Pastorale
Florentine art -
Pastoral
Workshop of Cosimo Merlini - Pastoral
Umbrian art -
Diptych reliquary
Umbrian art - Jesus crucified between the Madonna
and Saint John surrounded by Saints Francis, Louis of Toulouse, Clare
and a Franciscan saint
Giotto's workshop - Saint Francis stigmatized
Florentine art, workshop of Antonio di Salvi - Ambrosian monstrance
Attributed to Antonio di Salvi and workshop - Pace
Sienese art -
Reliquary cross
Florentine art - Cross
Tuscan art, Attributed to
Antonio di Salvi - Reliquary bust of Saint Ignatius of Antioch
Florentine art - Chalice
Goro di ser Neroccio - Goblet
Tuscan art
- Goblet
Tuscan art - Goblet
Italian art - Goblet
Florentine
art - Chalice
Florentine art - Reliquary
Florentine art - Cross
Florentine art - Paten
Florentine art - Chalice
French sculptor -
Madonna and Child
Tuscan art - Candelabrum with the coat of arms of
the Guelph party
Valerio Cioli - Candelabrum with Medici coat of arms
Giovanni di Francesco - Carrand Triptych
Andrea Pucci Sardis from
Empoli - Frieze
Lombard or Venetian art - Reliquary, dated 1403
Sienese art - Thurible
Umbrian-Marche art - Reliquary
Florentine
art - Reliquary
Attributed to Francesco I Teoli - Monstrance
Florentine art - Reliquary
Sienese art - Boat
Tuscan art - Boat
Tuscan art - Thurible
Sienese art - Thurible, base and chains from
the 19th century
Venetian art - Peace
Umbrian art - Candlestick
Lombard art - Peace
Florentine art - Cross
Florentine art - Cross
Sienese art - Peace
Florentine art - Peace
Venetian art - Part of
a reliquary bust
Sienese art - Reliquary base
Tuscan art -
Reliquary base
Lombard art - Chalice base
Tuscan art - Goblet,
19th century cup
Lombard art - Reliquary or monstrance base
Lombard art - Goblet
Florentine art - Peace
Sienese art -
Reliquary
Attributed to Tondino di Guerrino - Plaque: the Madonna,
the Child and the saints Peter and Paul
Italian workshop in Avignon -
Plaque: St. John the Evangelist
Tuscan art - Plaque: Madonna with
Child
Attributed to Francesco Marti - 5 plates for crosses
Italian
art - Chalice knot
Attributed to Guccio di Mannaia, Sienese art -
Cross
Italian art - Plaque: Penitent Magdalene
Milanese art -
Christ at the column
Tuscan art - Plaque with the symbol of the
Evangelist Mark
Lombard art - Plaque depicting Saint George
Bernardo Della Cecca - Choir
Bernardo Della Cecca - Large choir
lectern
The room, called after the Duke of Athens until 1888, to which the coat of arms of the frescoes belongs, contains part of the objects donated by Louis Carrand: pieces of goldsmith's art, Limoges enamels, metals, Indian objects, sculptures and paintings.
With the transformation into a prison of the Palace, the room in 1574 was divided into three rooms and only with the nineteenth-century restoration was it brought back to its original size, setting it up with wax modeling works by Gaetano Zumbo, medieval seals and tapestries from the Louis Carrand collection. Since 1982, the room has housed Islamic objects from the Grand Ducal and Carrand, Franchetti and Ressman collections, including metal objects from the 13th-15th centuries, majolica, ivory, jewels, weapons, five carpets and fabrics. In this room a display case was broken into in July 2006 during normal opening hours, stealing three jewels of great value: a gold necklace and a pair of earrings from the 12th century, a ring with a pendant from the 13th century. The alarm was not triggered despite the fracture and we only realized what happened when the criminals had fled.
The room, built between 1340-45 by Neri di Fioravante with the
elevation of the Palace, was used as a hall for the General Council.
Restored between 1857 and 1865, decorated with false frescoes, it was
set up in 1887, on the occasion of the fifth centenary of Donatello's
birth, with sculptures by the latter and from the early Florentine
fifteenth century, arranged symmetrically according to
nineteenth-century museographic precepts.
Among the masterpieces
preserved, some of Donatello's best works stand out, such as the San
Giorgio from a niche in Orsanmichele, the two Davids, a youthful one in
marble (1408-09) and the very famous one in bronze from around 1440,
beautifully modeled by surprising harmony in the different
three-dimensional views, the first nude in Western art since Roman art.
His other works are the bust of Niccolò da Uzzano, a portrait of marked
realism in terracotta, the Marzocco (1418-1420), a lion in serene stone
that rests a paw on the symbol of Florence, which became a symbol of the
city ever since the Piazza della Signoria (today it is represented in
the square by a copy, while this is the original) and the works of
maturity such as the bronze of Attys-Amore, restored in 2005, and the
Crucifixion.
This room also contains important works by other
artists, such as the two famous panels of the Sacrifice of Isaac that
Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi merged to participate in the
public competition of 1401 to build the north door of the Baptistery of
San Giovanni, universally recognized as the first works in absolute
where there is an overcoming of the Gothic style towards greater
classicism typical of the Renaissance.
Other contemporary works
are the works of Agostino di Duccio, Michelozzo, Luca della Robbia
(works of the sculptural period, before the invention of polychrome
terracotta, such as the Stories of St. Peter and the Madonna della Mela)
and Desiderio da Settignano, who was a pupil of Donatello, represented
here by a wooden San Giovanninno, previously attributed to Donatello,
and the Panciatichi Madonna, a marble bas-relief.
Andrea del Verrocchio - David
Donatello - Amore-Atys
Desiderio
da Settignano - Bust of a gentlewoman
Donatello - Portrait of Niccolo
da Uzzano
Desiderio da Settignano - Portrait of a boy
School of
Donatello - Two bases
Donatello - Marble David
Donatello - Bronze
David
Donatello - Marzocco
Benedetto da Maiano - Basement of
Marzocco
Donatello - St George and relief of St George freeing the
princess
Donatello - Martelli coat of arms
Attributed to Donatello
- Bearded head
Attributed to Donatello - Crucifixion
Attributed to
Donatello - Bust of a young man with cameo
Attributed to Donatello -
Dancing putto
School of Donatello - Madonna and Child
School of
Donatello - Madonna and Child
School of Donatello - Bust of Roman
emperor
From Donatello (workshop replica) - Madonna of Verona
Luca
Della Robbia - Madonna of the apple
Luca Della Robbia - Madonna and
Child
Luca Della Robbia - Saint Peter released from prison
Luca
Della Robbia - Crucifixion of St. Peter
Luca Della Robbia - Genoese
Madonna
Luca Della Robbia - Madonna of the Rose Garden
Luca and
Andrea della Robbia - Madonna in adoration of the Child
Luca Della
Robbia - Madonna and angels
Workshop of Luca Della Robbia - Bust of a
saint
Workshop of Luca Della Robbia - Madonna and Child with angels
Filippo Brunelleschi - panel with the Sacrifice of Isaac
Lorenzo
Ghiberti - panel with the Sacrifice of Isaac
Lorenzo Ghiberti - Ark
of the Three Martyrs, circa 1427-1428
School of Lorenzo Ghiberti -
Madonna and Child
School of Filippo Brunelleschi - Madonna and Child,
inv. 447
Mino da Fiesole - Winged putto
Michele da Firenze -
Madonna and Child
Attributed to Michele da Firenze - Madonna and
Child
Michelozzo di Bartolomeo - Madonna and Child
Michelozzo di
Bartolomeo - San Giovannino
Attributed to Michelozzo di Bartolomeo -
Madonna and Child
Attributed to Michelozzo di Bartolomeo - Sibyl
Attributed to Michelozzo di Bartolomeo - Sibyl
Attributed to
Michelozzo di Bartolomeo - Saint John the Baptist
Desiderio da
Settignano - Madonna and Child
Desiderio da Settignano - San
Giovannino
Desiderio da Settignano - Saint John the Baptist
Francesco da Sangallo - Saint John the Baptist
Bertoldo di Giovanni -
Lamentation over the Dead Christ - Triumph of Bacchus
Bertoldo di
Giovanni - Orpheus (or Apollo)
Bertoldo di Giovanni - Battle between
Romans and Barbarians
Attributed to Bertoldo di Giovanni -
Crucifixion
Il Vecchietta - Sepulchral statue of Mariano Sozzini
Florentine art - Chest
Tuscan art - Cassone
Agostino di Duccio -
Madonna and Child with Angels
Agostino di Duccio - Madonna and Child
with Angels
Tabernacle and curtain holding angels
Florentine art -
Historiated chest with episodes from Giovanni Boccaccio's Novella di
Messer Torello
Florentine sculptor - Portrait of an unknown woman
Florentine art and Tuscan Giovanni - Cassone historiated with the Palio
of San Giovanni
Nicola da Guardiagrele - Annunciation
Antonio di
Chellino da Pisa - Madonna and Child
Il Vecchietta - San Bernardino
of Siena
Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, called L'Antico - Eros
Florentine art - Historiated chest with the Expedition of the Argonauts
Attributed to the Master of Santa Maria Nuova - Madonna and Child
Enthroned
Tuscan art - Cassone
Florentine art - Chest
Tuscan
art - Chest decorated with virtues and warriors
The veranda, built between 1317 and 1320 on a project by Tone di Giovanni, was walled up and divided into cells with the transformation of the Palazzo into a prison; with the nineteenth-century restorations it was restored, frescoed by Gaetano Bianchi with medieval decorations and set up with some bells from Tuscan churches. In 1932, a new layout was made with sixteenth-century sculptures, mostly from decorations of fountains and gardens. among these the series of bronze animals by Giambologna, coming from the cave of the Villa Medicea di Castello, among which there are some specimens of incredible realism, such as the Pavoncella or the Turkey, at the time still an exotic animal.
The hall, built between 1260 and 1280, was subsequently divided into three rooms used as cells. In 1865 with the restoration and decoration of Gaetano Bianchi and Brazzini, it was set up with bronzes and small bronzes from the Uffizi, in 1888 replaced by glass, gold, medals from the Carrand collection, finally in 1983 with the donation of the antiquarian Giovanni Bruzzichelli, the room, dedicated to the collection of the latter, also houses sixteenth-century furniture. As of today, November 4, 2021, the room has been closed and the collections moved to the other rooms of the Museum.
Since 1888, the room has exhibited the museum collection of Italian
and non-Italian majolica; the main nucleus, made up of the Medici
collections, is made up of pieces mostly from Urbino workshops. The room
was also enriched with new pieces by donations from Alessandro Foresi,
Antonio Conti[not clear], Luis Carrand, Wilhem Bode, Luigi Pisa and
Giuseppe Vai Geppi, finally in 1997 from the Pillitteri bequest and in
1999 from the Middeldorf bequest. On the walls there are glazed ceramics
from the della Robbia workshop and precisely: A tondo by Giovanni della
Robbia depicting St. Francis of Assisi; A tondo from the workshop of
Giovanni della Robbia depicting Saint Ursula; a tondo by Luca della
Robbia the young, marriage emblem of the Bartolini/Salimbeni families
with the symbols of the Medici enterprise; A panel from the workshop of
Giovanni della Robbia depicting the meeting between St. Benedict and
King Totila; a tondo, work of the workshop of Andrea della Robbia,
depicting the chapter of the Cathedral of Florence; and a tondo by
Giovanni della Robbia with the marriage crest of the Gaetani/Minerbetti
families dated 1493.
Hall of Verrocchio and sculpture of the
second half of the fifteenth century
The hall was used as a prison in
1574 and was restored in 1865, decorated with the coats of arms of some
Florentine families by Gaetano Bianchi. The room is set up with
sculptures from the second half of the fifteenth century, mostly from
the Uffizi, from the Medici and Lorraine collections.
Standing
out among the works on display is the bronze David by Verrocchio (about
1470), of a realism almost opposite to the classicism of Donatello. The
delicate Dama del Mazzolino and the Bust of Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici
are the work of the same artist. Other busts of famous Renaissance
figures are exhibited here, such as the Young Warrior by Antonio del
Pollaiolo, the portrait of Battista Sforza by Francesco Laurana and that
of Pietro Mellini by Benedetto da Maiano. There are also numerous
sculptures, both statues and reliefs, by Mino da Fiesole and Antonio
Rossellino.
The room houses one of the most important collections of small bronzes, with the main nucleus belonging to the Medici collections. Certainly first in Italy for quality and size, here are some pieces of absolute value such as the Hercules that "bursts" Anteo by Antonio del Pollaiolo and the Ganymede by Benvenuto Cellini, as well as works by Giambologna and Andrea Briosco known as il Riccio. In this room there is also the valuable fireplace made by Benedetto da Rovezzano.
With the Palazzo's destination as a prison, the room was divided into four rooms to obtain cells; with the nineteenth-century restoration it was set up first with terracotta sculptures, then with works by Benvenuto Cellini. In 1972, it was dedicated to the work of Andrea Della Robbia. Among the most notable works are the Bust of a boy, the Portrait of a girl, the Madonna of the architects and the Madonna of the pillow, refined glazed terracottas in an elegant blue/white duotone.
The room is set up with works by Giovanni della Robbia and other collaborators and related artists. A large polychrome glazed terracotta tabernacle stands out, exemplary of Giovanni's style, who compared to the previous artists of the Della Robbia family tried to use all the technically possible colors characterizing his works for polychromy, generally a pentachromy with white, blue, yellow , green and brown.
The room houses what remains of the Medici and Urbino armory enriched
by Carrand and Ressman donations.
Halls of Baroque Sculpture and
the Medal Collection
The rooms rearranged in 1990 welcome the
collection of medals of the Bargello and the sculpture of the Baroque
era. The bust of Costanza Bonarelli by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is kept
there.
The Medici and Grand Ducal medal collection, among the
richest in Italy also thanks to a series of purchases and additions that
reaches the present day, can mostly be visited only on request: the
memory of the serious theft, in 1932, of the the only known example in
the world of Pisanello's gold medal, destroyed shortly thereafter.